Turnabout What?
by GyakutenSaibanx3
Summary: It's 2026, and Maya's finally come to visit Phoenix! But for what reason...? And Apollo gets a case to defend Iris! Twists and turns are just around the corner. Phoenix X Maya.
1. The Proposal

** If only we really did know what ever happened to Maya.** **Since Capcom isn't willing to tell us (probably for now, anyway), I'd be glad to throw my imagination at you. **

Original fan fiction by: Michelle V.

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At the Borscht Bowl Club, the piano playing was… unique. The man playing at the piano had a few empty grape juice bottles next to his chair, and as two people approached and requested something of him, they went through the kitchen with another employee—who randomly snapped shots at the people—and disappeared down the stairs. This got the woman standing at the entrance of this chilly restaurant just a tiny bit curious…and curiosity can go a long way. She followed the four people down the stairs and peeked through the little window that let her see into the room.

"Now, Olga," said the pianist, adjusting his hat. "You're not going to cheat for these people too, are you?" His eyes were fixed on her, and the woman he was addressing shivered and hid behind the borscht in her hand.

"D-da, I will not be doing the cheating again…" Olga said back timidly.

"Then you can cut the act," said the man, sending a malicious smile her way.

Olga frowned. "Ugh, alright, alright then," Olga replied, pulling off her thick jacket, revealing a spunky woman who smirked as she skillfully shuffled the cards in her hands. "You all know how to play poker, right?"

The woman staring through the small window dropped her jaw. _They're gambling? These people are doing tactless acts to their wallets!_ The woman panicked and charged into the room, not thinking.

"GAMBLING IS NOT RIGHT!" she yelled. As she calmed herself, she noticed that the man who was playing piano earlier was quite familiar, now that she had a good look at his face. His back had been turned toward the window she was peeking through.

One of the people sitting at the poker table coughed, and said, "We're not playing for real money; we heard the pianist at this restaurant never lost a game of poker in all his time here." At this comment, the woman blushed, and she started nervously tightening her "topknot".

"So are you going to play, or what?" said Olga. She was dealing the cards.

"Um, I don't know how to play poker…" the woman said hesitantly.

The other stranger at the poker table said, "Then maybe you can just sit in and be a witness to the game. You can testify that I was the second person to beat the pianist here!" The stranger chuckled at her own joke, and the woman decided to sit down. _Wow, 'witness'? 'Testify'? Haven't heard those words in a while…_ thought the girl as she plopped herself into one of the chairs.

Ever since she entered the room, the pianist with the blue skullcap had not stopped staring at her. He seemed focused on her the most out of everyone in the room. The woman glanced at him every now and then when he momentarily averted his gaze.

"So," said Olga, "what's your name? I've never seen you at the Club. You even knew about the Hydeout!"

The woman stared up at her. "Me? Oh, I'm no one special. I'm Maya Fey, current master of the Kurain Channeling Technique. It's nice to meet you!" Maya smiled and extended her hand to Olga.

Instead of shaking Olga's hand, the man in the blue skullcap grabbed her hand, making Maya turn to him.

"Um… can I help you?" Maya said, smiling just a little.

At this, the man laughed a little. "You really _don't_ remember me, do you?"

This statement made Maya think a little bit. Suddenly, her face lit up, and her jaw dropped. "NICK?" she exploded. "Is that really you?" She ran over to him and hugged him as tightly as she could. "I've been away from Kurain for a month just looking for you! I went to your office but instead of 'Law Offices', it said 'Anything Agency' on the door, so I really didn't think to go inside." Maya stared at Phoenix, or Nick, not realizing how intimate her gaze looked to the other people in the room.

Phoenix swiveled his chair and put his arms on her shoulders. Unknowingly, he blanked out for about a minute, never taking his eyes off of Maya. It seemed he couldn't find the words to say—or maybe he couldn't decide what to ask her about first.

"Hey, Mr. Pianist," said one of the people playing poker with him, "Are you going to stare at your girlfriend all day, or we going to play some poker?"

At this comment, Phoenix and Maya both instantly went red. Maya threw her arms around, _strongly denying _this misconception.

"We're not… well, you see…" Maya stammered, still throwing her arms around.

Maya's quick denial of any intimate relationship at all between them hurt Phoenix, but he tried to sound like he didn't care. "We're just FRIENDS!" he smiled. "And if you'll excuse me, I'm going to talk to my FRIEND." Phoenix got up out of his chair and put his arm around Maya's shoulder. The stranger said under his breath, "Um, you said friend twice…"

They walked up the stairs together slowly and awkwardly, like a baby just learning to walk. When they got to the raggedy kitchen, Phoenix noticed Maya's red face and the location of Phoenix's arm: around Maya. He quickly pulled it away and used it to scratch his head.

"So, why are you here? You should be at Kurain since you're the master and all…" Phoenix said trying not to look at Maya's troubled face.

She stared at him, and started to say, "Well, that's the thing. I visited Sister Bikini just before coming here for you. She said that since I'm twenty— … OLDER now, I should be considering marriage…" She fidgeted and crinkled her robes as Phoenix gawked at her.

For a while, Phoenix didn't do anything at all. He never really could do anything when shocked this much. Not to anyone's surprise, his ring-tone of the Steel Samurai played as someone from his office called him on his cell phone. He dug through his pockets feeling for his phone, embarrassed as Maya giggled at the thought of Phoenix having a ten-year-old ring-tone. Of course, Phoenix knew Maya still had her Steel Samurai fetish; she _did_ send him those Steel Samurai DVDs when he was disbarred, after all.

"Hello? This is Wright speaking," Phoenix said, coughing to clear his voice.

The voice on the other line was loud and clear, so Maya couldn't help but listen in on the conversation.

"Daddy! Daddy! We've got a case for Polly! Don't we, Polly? Yes we do!" a girl's voice bubbled through the phone. Maya's eyes widened. _Did I just hear 'Daddy'? Oh, no, no, no, no. He has a child? Don't tell me… I'm too late?_ This was what surged through Maya's mind, her expressions getting more and more distressed.

A boy's voice suddenly appeared, though a little faraway-sounding. "Hey, give me the phone, Trucy. Let me talk to your dad."

"Daddy, Polly wants to talk to you! You want to talk to Daddy, don't you, Polly? Yes you do!" Trucy giggled.

"Stop talking to me like I'm some kind of bird…" "Polly" said miserably, grabbing the phone. "Mr. Wright? Ah, yes… I need your help with my case. It has something to do with a woman named Iris. She wanted to meet you and me at the local detention center to talk."

Phoenix's expression suddenly got sterner. "What? Iris? Did something happen to her? Ah, never mind. I'll be at the office soon to get you, okay? Bye."

Phoenix started for the door, but then he realized Maya was with him. He smiled softly at her and said, "Would you like to come along with me, and be my faithful assistant again?" He chuckled at the thought, and Maya made a nostalgic, displeased expression at him.

"Well, okay. We need to discuss what I said, anyway…" she said, looking at anything but him.

"Oh, right… Well, let's talk about this later, in private." Phoenix looked at her, and then started walking for the door. Maya followed not too far behind.

The walk all the way back to the office was quiet and awkward, at least on Maya's part. Phoenix was humming a tune, still smiling because he finally got to meet Maya after so long. Maya, on the other hand, was thinking of the worst-case scenario that could occur. _Let's see, Iris was Nick's girlfriend in university. Iris still liked him, even after the last trial I went to. I've been gone for seven years. _No way, _Iris and Nick are married?_

Maya's expressions looked obviously troubling to Phoenix, and he slowly asked her, "Maya, is everything alright?"

She suddenly noticed her strange behavior and started to laugh suspiciously. "Ah, hah, nothing's wrong at all, Phoenix – oh, I mean Nick. Everything's hunky-dory. Ha, ha, ha, ha…"

Phoenix had a suspecting look on his face. "Well, if you say so," he said, looking at the buildings they walked by. "Ah, here we are. Right this way, Maya."

When they finally got to the "Wright Anything Agency", Maya gulped loudly. _Here it comes, _she thought, _I'm going to meet Nick's daughter!_ As Phoenix opened the door, the only person standing inside was a young man.

"Uh, Mr. Wright, Trucy's panties got stolen again, so she's chasing after the culprits with Mr. Hat right now…" the young man said uncomfortably, only noticing Maya after he spoke.

What the young man said confused Maya immensely. _If Nick and Iris have been married for at most seven years, then their child could be around 6. Yet, someone stole her panties, and she's being allowed to roam around alone freely…? And who the heck is Mr. Hat? He sounds like a butler… _As shethought deeply, Phoenix introduced Maya to the young man.

"Apollo, this is a close friend of mine. Her name is Maya Fey. She's… a little out of it today. You see, we finally met after seven years," Phoenix whispered to Apollo, trying to make sure not to attract Maya's attention.

Apollo stared at Maya, and murmured to Phoenix, "Wow, Mr. Wright. She's pretty. How old is she?"

Phoenix looked at Apollo, then at Maya, and then at Apollo again. "Let's just say that she's older than you. _Way _older than you," he exaggerated to the twenty-two year old.

Apollo shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, it doesn't matter if she's old, Mr. Wright, it doesn't matter at all. She's still really pretty." Apollo didn't notice that Maya could hear him; he was talking at a normal volume. Phoenix laughed, and Maya started to interrogate Phoenix about what he told gullible Apollo.

"Well, you know," Phoenix joked, "you_ are_ pretty old now!" He stretched and laughed as he thought about this, and Maya was sneaking a glance at his left ring finger for a ring. There wasn't a ring around his finger. She sighed, thinking that that didn't help her confirm anything at all. He could have been keeping it safe somewhere, after all.

Phoenix detected Maya's sigh and put his hand on her shoulder, staring at her. His voice became soft, and he said, "What's wrong? You look bothered."

Maya blushed as she noticed Phoenix's hand was somewhat firmer, and stronger than she had remembered it. She quickly pushed herself away and stuttered, "You, you're, you are…" _married…_ Maya tried saying, but the word wouldn't reveal itself to Phoenix and stayed in her head.

Phoenix stared at her and thought that she didn't feel anything at all for him, judging from her reaction. _'You're not my type' is what she meant to say,_ Phoenix thought, sighing, and then laughing pathetically. _She's probably here to ask me to help her get a boyfriend…I'm so stupid for jumping to conclusions._ "Sorry, Maya, I didn't know," Phoenix said, forcing a smile on his face.

"I think we should head down to the detention center, you two," Apollo said, fixing the papers and other paraphernalia in his hands.

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Well, that's my first chapter. It's okay, I guess. Please help me make it better by reviewing!


	2. Detained

Chapter 2! I'm really glad people are ACTUALLY READING MY STORY.

I just want to say thank you~ :]

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The walk to the detention center was a miserable one for Maya. She couldn't stop thinking of what Phoenix said earlier. _What did you not know? You're married, so don't just be pleasant to me like I'm your girlfriend of something…_ She walked slower than the two men ahead of her. Eventually, she just stopped walking. This caught Phoenix's attention, because he was listening to the soft _clack _of her slippers.

Phoenix turned around and saw Maya staring at him, her eyes filling with tears. "Whoa, what's wrong?" he said, jogging towards her. He stood behind her and gently pushed her from behind. "If you get lost, you might get taken hostage again," he joked. Maya couldn't handle this fake sense of him caring and wiped her tears.

"I _really_ need to talk to you later," she said sternly, trying to hide the fact that she almost cried.

"Okay, but I think we should deal with the problem at hand right now, don't you?" Phoenix said, still gently pushing her. He was a little confused, and gently stroked his unshaven face with his free hand.

Maya turned a little, just enough to see Phoenix's worried face. "Yeah, you're right. I can walk by myself now. Thanks Nick." She smiled a little, and he smiled back.

"Just keep a steady pace with us, okay? I don't want you getting lost!" Phoenix shouted somewhat loudly, loud enough for Apollo to hear. At this, Apollo ran back; he thought Phoenix was talking to him.

At the detention center, Maya was surprised to meet a man wearing an orange jacket, the same thing he wore when they had first met.

"No way, Nick…" started the man in the orange jacket, "what is it with you and your special ability to get gorgeous women to follow you around like a chick magnet?" He ran up to Maya, clasping her hands tightly. "Why hello there, I'm Lawrence. And who might you be?"

Maya burst into laughter, remarking in between her gasps for breath, "Larry, you don't remember me? It's me, Maya Fey!" These words sent Larry waaay back, back when he was a luckless loser. He was engulfed in sadness, and sat in the corner of the visitor's room.

"Apollo, meet my old friend, Larry Butz," Phoenix said, pointing at the depressed shape in the dark corner.

"Ah, um, it's nice to meet you, Mr.… Butz. Apollo Justice, attorney at law," Apollo responded, trying not to stare at him.

"Excuse me folks, but the suspect is now in the visitor's room," said the always silent guard. This surprised everyone, and Phoenix was the first to speak.

"Iris?" Phoenix asked worriedly.

The black-haired woman looked up at everyone with eyes of sheer sadness. "Feenie? Is it really you?" she questioned, trying to look at him more clearly through the window. She even got up out of her chair to get a better look.

"Ah, um, yeah, it's me, Iris," Phoenix said, trying not to look her in the eye while shyly scratching his head. "How have you been?"

Iris smiled brightly, replying quickly, "I'm quite fine! Well, actually, I'm not fine… I'm back here, aren't I?" Maya was too sad (or maybe too jealous) to look at Iris. She didn't see her at Hazakura Temple, which was a good thing to her, but she didn't want to meet _Phoenix's wife _under these conditions. Maya couldn't bring herself to check if Iris had a ring around her finger, so she decided to stay quiet like a little obedient girl.

_Of course Nick would be married already. He's an amazing guy! Man oh man, where am I going to find another guy to marry? They just don't fall off of trees or from the sky…_ After her depressing train of thought had reached its destination, she slowly scanned the room. On the other side of the window were the security guard and Iris. On her side of the room were three men: Nick—who she didn't dare to look at—Apollo, who she didn't know very well, and… Larry. Was she REALLY going to consider LARRY as someone she'd MARRY? She swallowed hard, and slowly approached Larry in the corner, forcing herself not to eavesdrop in on Iris and Phoenix's conversation.

"H-hello, Larry," Maya said, trying to smile.

Larry responded, "Hey, Maya! I didn't notice you there. Sorry! It's just that you got waaaaay prettier." He looked off to the side, showing his modesty.

She grinned, saying back, "Thanks Larry! That's a first. Um, well, I think I should get to the point. I need to talk to you about this situation I have to deal with. You see—"

Maya was abruptly interrupted by Phoenix, whose hand was again on her shoulder. "Larry, we've heard the situation. We're going to find some clues now. We'll be seeing you, then," Phoenix said, turning Maya toward the door. She, Phoenix, and Apollo left, and Apollo asked Phoenix about the case. "You want to know the accusation against Iris? Murder," Phoenix smiled casually.

This smile sent a chill down Apollo's spine, making him twitch just a bit. "That… that was just a bit _too_ casual, Mr. Wright…" Apollo said, sweat rolling down his face.

Maya sighed again. _I promised Pearly she'd be the first to know that Nick and I would be getting married… and I said I'd get it done by the end of this month! What do I do?_ Maya squeezed her head, as if trying to squeeze ideas out of it would really work. At this, Phoenix smirked. _Same old Maya_, he thought.

Maya had a look of dissatisfaction on her face. She looked down, kicking a rock, as she breathed, "Who could _possibly_ stay in love with someone they hadn't seen in seven years? Well, excluding me…"

"Hey, Maya," Phoenix said at last when he stopped walking. "We're at the first place we're going to investigate."

Apollo ran up to the entrance of the building. "Mr. Wright, we're investigating a _burger joint_? What does this have to do with Iris's supposed murder?" he questioned, rubbing his empty stomach.

At Apollo's words, Maya looked up. They were at the burger joint where she, Phoenix, and Pearl would always eat. She ran up to Phoenix and yelled, "Nick, can I go get some burgers? Huh? Can I?" She was practically drooling. She was planning to eat at the Borscht Bowl Club earlier, but then that never worked out.

Phoenix beamed and replied, "Alright, go ahead, order four burgers and four drinks for all of us then." He then shooed her into the building, and started talking to Apollo. "Apollo, what was Maya talking to Larry about?" Phoenix demanded with an obviously jealous look in his eyes.

Apollo swallowed, shocked to see his usually calm and collected boss so envious at the exchange of a few sentences. "They weren't talking about much, Mr. Wright. They never got to the point of the conversation anyway. You interrupted them. But I can tell you that she had a 'situation' she had to take care of, whatever it was," he cautiously said, bracing himself for anything else Phoenix would throw at him.

Phoenix's reaction was again a first for Apollo. Phoenix covered his eyes with his hat, looking downward. He shoved his hands in his dark sweater, and took a few steps in place to fix his sandals. He finally replied, "Okay, thanks. Let's get working on the case."

"Alright, so, should we step in now?" Apollo said, waiting for his boss to lead the way.

Phoenix still looked down, saying in a very low voice, "Yeah. Let's do that."

When the two walked in, they saw that Maya was barely ordering. She turned nervously at the entrance, and had a sudden look of urgency on her face. She motioned Apollo to call Phoenix for her. "Mr. Wright, Maya needs you at the register…" Apollo said, guessing that Maya was almost—or maybe already was—broke.

When Phoenix looked at Maya, who was apologizing to the woman behind her for taking so long, he laughed just slightly. He walked up to Maya and she said, "Nick, sorry, but you're going to have to pay for the burgers. I barely have any money left."

Phoenix eyed Maya dreadfully, hesitantly fishing for his wallet in his sweater pocket. "_Just how much do I have to pay?_"

"Um…" Maya said nervously, "Thirty-five dollars and eighty-three cents?"

Phoenix popped a vein. He was _so close_ to yelling "OBJECTION!" but that's because he almost forgot he was disbarred seven years ago. "How do you manage to buy so much at a burger stand?" he complained, regrettably taking two twenties out. He was like his old self again: paying for everything.

When they finally got their order, Apollo was sitting at a table by himself. Phoenix turned to Maya and said, "You go ahead and eat at the table Apollo is sitting at. We'll be investigating."

"All right. Good luck on your investigation!" Maya chirped, already cheered up by having burgers. She didn't say anything, but she was still a little skeptical that they had to investigate here. Maybe, _just maybe,_ Phoenix brought them here to cheer Maya up.

Phoenix and Apollo sneaked out the back door of the restaurant, going to the building next door. "Mr. Wright, why'd we go to that burger joint if we're really investigating here?" Apollo said, dense to Phoenix's real intentions.

"Let's just say that Maya has an obsession with hamburgers, and she looked a little down," Phoenix smiled, adjusting his hat. Apollo still didn't get it. As they opened the door, they saw just a few police officers. They also saw a big man with a coat of mismatched fabrics. "Detective Gumshoe?" Phoenix said slowly. The big man turned around, and walked up to Phoenix.

"Who are you, and how do you know me?" Gumshoe said, grabbing the pencil in his left ear. "By the way, pal; I'm not just any detective anymore. I'm the chief of the little precinct here!" With this, he smiled, but Phoenix and Apollo didn't believe it.

_If you're chief now, I think you could be able to afford a new jacket…_ Phoenix thought, staring at the jacket. It jacket had at least six different colors, and at least three different designs on it.

"Hey, pal!" Gumshoe said, "Don't judge me by this jacket! I've gotten that look hundreds of time already… Truth is, Maggey made this jacket for me, pal." He scratched his head. "I know it doesn't look like any designer brand, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

Apollo stared at him. Phoenix said, "You're right, Chief Detective Gumshoe! And you look good in that jacket if you look at it from a certain angle…" He looked at Gumshoe from several points of view, and as he did this, Apollo sweated, thinking, _Liar… What a way to suck up._

"Anyway, pal, what're you doing here?" Gumshoe asked, lightly tapping his shoe on the concrete floor.

"I'm helping this boy over here with his case," Phoenix said, glancing at Apollo. Phoenix smirked. "He's working under me."

Gumshoe stared at Apollo. "That's nice and all, but neither of you ever told me your name, pal. I think that after we get acquainted, I'll decide if I'll help you on your investigation or not," he said with confidence.

Phoenix looked at him, quite surprised. "Oh. I thought you would get an idea of who I was from my dialogue. I'll just give you a hint. Does 'porcupine-head' ring a bell?"

Gumshoe fell back. "No way, pal…" He got up, pinched Phoenix's cheeks and slapped him a little.

Apollo could see that Phoenix was getting a little irritated. "Um, Chief Detective Gumshoe, maybe you should stop…" he suggested. "I'm Apollo Justice, by the way."

"Nice to meet you pal," Gumshoe said, squishing Phoenix's cheeks together one last time.

"So Gumshoe, will you help us, for old time's sake?" Phoenix said, looking up at him like they were the best of friends.

Gumshoe scratched his head, like he was _very_ deep in thought. "Oh, alright, pal, but JUST this once."

"Thanks Gumshoe. So, what's the situation?" Phoenix said, slightly feeling like he forgot something. He looked up at the ceiling, going through the events of the day.

_Please don't tell me Mr. Wright forgot about his girlfriend… His memory's getting worse with age_, Apollo thought, letting out a sigh.

* * *

Well, I know how I'm going to end this story already.

But there are going to be a few more chapters.

I think.

Review please?


	3. Denied!

Well, I really don't know how often this should be updated.

Maybe I'll update again when I finish the chapter I'm currently working on...

[Which means it might take a while ^-^;]

Again, thanks for reading :]

Oh! And about the reviews...

edgeygavin: Yes, I know my plot is very messy . And thank you! I didn't really think I wrote well (x

Blue Deity: Thank you :] I think that since Maya's getting old, she should get any special treatment (x I know my plot jumps around, but that's because it's not in only one person's POV-it's practically omniscient, like you said.

Zyesaa: Hah, thank you for liking my idea :] His hard work really should have payed off my now, do you think?

Mikiejoe: You review actually made me WANT to update faster :] Let's just hope I can keep up!

* * *

At that exact moment, Maya sneezed. "Huh," she thought out loud, "I wonder what that was about." She walked over to her table and watched the sad, cold burgers and the drinks that probably tasted like gross watered down soda. _Where's Nick? Could he _really_ be investigating here? Well, we did investigate at Très Bien. _She sighed, and decided to take the burgers and walk around for a bit. She couldn't handle staying still.

Just as she was walking out the door, she bumped into a man. What a surprise… it was Larry. "Larry? You eat here?" Maya said feeling a bit shocked. She DID NOT was to see him again so soon, due to the fact that she almost proposed to him.

Larry smiled. "Oh, no, I don't go here. It's actually the first time I've been here. Have any suggestions on what to try?"

Maya's eyes lit up. Burgers here were her specialization. She tried everything on the menu at least twice. She knew what was good here as well as she knew her name was Maya Fey. "How about I just order with you?" she said, grinning from ear to ear.

"… So I was thinking, Mr. Wright, we should question Iris next," Apollo rambled, just as they reentered the burger joint. He looked up, and saw Maya with Larry again. Oh my.

He looked at Phoenix, then at Maya and Larry, who looked like they were having fun, and at Phoenix again. "Mr. Wright, we're looking at the situation in the wrong perspective, see?" Apollo said nervously. He gently grabbed Phoenix's arms just in case he had a sudden impulse to stroll up to Larry and bite his head off.

Phoenix brushed him off, and walked up to Maya and Larry with the most artificial smile in the world. "Hey, Maya, sorry we're a little late!"

Maya frowned at him. "Nick, I've been here for an hour," she complained. "And I really need to talk to you. Right now. This very moment."

Phoenix stared at her, his cheeks and ears turning red. "No, NO, NO, NO, not here, not in front of _him…_!" He turned to give Larry a quick look, and then he looked back at Maya.

"Eh? What're you hiding from your best bud, Nick?" Larry playfully nudged at Phoenix.

Phoenix slowly turned his head to Larry. "Shut up," he said in a dangerous tone. "I'm not in the mood, Butz."

"What? Nick? WHAT DID I DOOOOOOOOO?" screamed Larry as he ran out the door, with tears filling in his eyes. The poor guy didn't even order his burgers.

"Um, Nick, what did Larry do to you?" Maya asked curiously.

Phoenix sighed, and then turned to Maya with a smile. "It doesn't concern you," he said, his mouth twitching noticeably. Apollo's bracelet practically cut off circulation to his hand.

"Mr. Wright! We need to investigate Iris, NOW," Apollo begged, his hand getting cold from the lack of blood.

He gave Apollo a dirty look, and then walked out, telling Maya to bring the burgers to his office. "The door should be open," he said. "We'll talk when I get back."

Maya started on the way to the office, when she felt a drop on her head, then another, and yet another. Great. It was raining. She had nothing but the bag of burgers to cover her head. The majority of the cups of soda were probably water, so she threw them out. As she placed the bag of burgers atop her head, she felt something strange. She felt her head, and then she felt the bag. The burger grease leaking from the bag smeared on her head. Great.

"This is terrible," Maya grumbled. She dragged her feet on the floor, and she slipped. GREAT. She was embarrassed, though no one was around… well, no one except a girl holding a pair of panties. She held out her hand to Maya in an effort to help her up.

Maya stared at her, and thought, _No way, THIS is Trucy?_ Her jaw dropped, but Trucy just looked at her, with a confused smile on her face.

"Are you in need of any assistance? Daddy said to help the helpless when I can," Trucy said her hand still stretched out to Maya.

Maya, who was about to take her hand, let it stay in mid-air. "You can't help me."

"Hmm? Why would you say that?"

"I'm a lost cause. You can't help those."

"Oh really? I'll see about that. I'm the amazing Trucy! I'm a magician. And you are?"

"Maya Fey Ace Spiritualist, at your service."

Trucy paused, examined Maya's clothing, and then gasped for breath. "Would… would you happen to know my daddy?"

Maya gave her a confused look. "If your daddy is Nick, then yeah, I do, actually. Why?"

Trucy grabbed Maya's necklace and closely observed it. "He's always carrying one of these around, and he always keeps it clean."

"You mean this Magatama?"

Trucy grinned. "Yeah, that thing."

Maya almost forgot it was raining, except for the fact that she started sneezing. She was officially sick. "Mm, I almost forgot. Your daddy wanted me to bring these to his office," Maya stated, holding up the soggy bag of burgers.

Trucy observed as the bag tore and the burgers fell out, their wrappers drenched in grease and rain water. "Yuck," she said, sticking her tongue out. "Just throw those out! I could probably take some emergency snacks out from my panties!" Maya noticed that Trucy's bloomers were still in her hand.

Suddenly, some chips and an umbrella were pulled out, and it made Maya choke on her spit.

"That… was AMAZING!" Maya screeched, grabbing Trucy by the shoulders. "Can I see your panties?" She paused. _Oh. That makes me sound like a pedophile…_

They walked in silence during the walk to the office. It wasn't because it was awkward; they were busy stuffing the chips in their mouths. When they got to the front door, Trucy said, "Oh yeah, would you like to use our shower? You seem a bit… unclean right now."

Maya nodded, but then paused and said, "I need clothes though."

"I'll lend you some!"

"Magician clothes…?"

"They're actually very comfortable," Trucy insisted, pulling out her spare costume from her panties. Maya again stared in amazement.

On the way to the bathroom, Maya strolled around the office. She sighed. _Man, I miss the old office, _Maya thought.

When Maya rinsed her hair in the hot water, she felt the uncomfortable sleekness of it from the grease. _I think I'm going to be in here a while…_ She started thinking about everything that happened that day.

Trucy looked at the time. "Oh no! I'm going to be late for my performance! I better write Maya a note," she said, scribbling words onto a paper she pulled out of a pile of paperwork. She also signed her name, "Trucy Wright" to make it look more professional. She laughed a little, left it on the floor next to the bathroom, and left.

"…I'll just go with my 'Trucy was adopted and not an illegitimate child' scenario," Maya said, wearing Trucy's clothes. Surprisingly, she looked really good in them. The first step she took out of the bathroom was onto the paper lying there, and she tripped on it and fell on the hardwood floor. "Ow… Trucy, did you leave this here?" Maya said, rubbing her butt and grabbing the paper. "Trucy? Hey, Trucy…" Maya scanned the paper. It read:

Maya,

Sorry to leave you like this, but I have a performance at the Wonder Bar tonight. Feel free to eat whatever's there and you can sleep on the couch if you're tired. I hope you enjoy yourself!

Trucy Wright

Maya laughed, and yawned. It was barely 9:47, but she was tired. "Hmm, maybe some sleep will do wonders on me," she said to herself, trying to get into a comfortable position on the couch. As she sat on it, she grinned. "Hey, it's the same couch. He kept it all this time…" Maya dozed off, unable to finish her sentence.

When Phoenix walked into the offices, a dim lamp was on. He saw a hat sticking out from behind the couch. "Trucy, sweetie, did you miss your performance at the bar?" he asked, wondering why "Trucy" was sleeping on the couch. "She must be sleeping. Oh well." Phoenix walked up to the person in the hat and kissed her on the check, a sign of fatherly love, but then he suddenly realized his mistake.

_What… What the…_ Phoenix thought, wondering why_ Trucy's_ hair was _long and black_. _Oh, no… is that MAYA?_ He took a few steps back, his face red, and Apollo walked in.

He flicked on the lights and said, "Hey, Mr. Wright, what's the matter? And why is Trucy here?" It seemed he also noticed the hat.

"Hmm?" Maya slowly got up, rubbing her eyes. She saw Phoenix and Apollo and said, "Oh hey, Nick. Hey, Apollo. What time is it?"

"It's 12:30 in the morning, Maya," Phoenix said. "Um, what are you doing here?"

Apollo slowly started to piece together why Phoenix was blushing and why he was so surprised to see Maya in Trucy's clothes. _Pfft,_ Apollo thought, _I bet he thought Maya was Trucy and gave her a kiss or something._ He started laughing quietly to himself.

Maya stared at him. "Well, Trucy left me this note, see, and she said I could sleep on the couch if I was tired." She rubbed her cheek. "Huh. My cheek's tingling. I wonder why."

At this statement, Phoenix's whole face turned bright red, and Apollo burst into laughter. "_No way,_ Mr. Wright. You really thought she was Trucy and KISSED HER?" Apollo laughed even louder, tears almost coming out of his eyes.

These words took a while to process in Maya's mind, and when they did, her eyes widened and he face turned beet red. "Uh, um, Nick, what is Apollo talking about?"

Phoenix paused, looked down like a guilty child, and said cautiously, "Sorry… I thought you were Trucy."

Maya looked down, and apologized repeatedly. "I'm really sorry! I should've told you so this wouldn't have happened!" _I never thought I'd ever have to apologize for being kissed by Nick…_

They didn't know that the other enjoyed the kiss as well. The only person to perceive this fact was Apollo, the witness to their first intimate moment since who knows when. He coughed, catching the attention of both. "I'll be going right now. I wanted to watch Trucy's performance, but it's too late, so I'll just pick her up. You kids have fun!" As he ran down the hall, his laughs echoed.

The air in the office was now awkward.

Maya, her hand still to her cheek, broke the silence with a sneeze.

Phoenix looked at her. "Maya, are you sick?" He put his hand to her forehead and neck.

Maya shivered, saying, "Ah, Nick, your hand is _really cold_!"

Phoenix looked around his office. He rummaged through a pile of miscellaneous items and pulled out a vacuum-packed bag with a blanket in it. He pulled out the blanket and wrapped it around Maya. "Here, use this, and sleep on the couch. I have stuff to do."

"No, Nick," Maya replied, "We _have to_ talk."

Phoenix scratched his head and sighed. "Alright," he said, giving in to how adorable Maya looked wrapped around the thick blanket.

Maya looked a little more energized. "Okay, sit on the couch with me!" She leaped onto the couch, looking like a giant throw pillow. Phoenix carefully sat on the other side of the couch, trying to distract his eyes by looking at the letter Trucy wrote to Maya.

Maya fidgeted under the big blanket. "Okay, Nick, so as I was saying, Sister Bikini thinks I should get married now—"

"Because you're so old now?" Phoenix joked, chuckling. Maya tried hitting him and squirmed closer, kicking him with her feet.

"No, because I need someone to inherit this position when I'm gone," Maya said, now sitting next to him. Phoenix was turning red, but Maya didn't seem to notice how close they were.

"O-oh. And why did you come to me?" He gulped, hoping she was going to ask him if he'd want to marry her.

Maya, sighing, then yawning, tears forming in her eyes, said slowly, "To tell you the truth, I really don't know what to do anymore. I mean, I'm even considering _Apollo_, who I just met, and even Larry. Nick, you've gotta help me."

Phoenix twitched. _She's not considering me, but she's considering LARRY? What's up with that…?_ He turned to Maya, who was already half-asleep. "Maya, aren't you forgetting someone? You know, someone you're _really _close with mentally and physically…?" He turned to look at her, and she was asleep, her head on his shoulder.

"… Raise your hand if you feel like a loser," Phoenix whispered, putting up both hands. He dropped the paper on the table, put a pillow under Maya's head and left the room off to chug grape juice like there was no tomorrow.

_Funny, _he thought, _Trucy and I were hoping for the same thing._ On the other side of the letter, unknown to Maya, Trucy also wrote:

P.S. Hey, are you and Daddy going to get together? I've been bugging Daddy to find a new Mommy for me, and you're just perfect for that!

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Well, there's chapter three!

Please review, so I know how to improve!

[Also, reviews give me inspiration to write, which means I'll update sooner, wink wink, nudge nudge]


	4. Misconceptions on Both Their Parts

Wow, chapter four... I can't believe it! (x

I really want to thank you all for reading and reviewing! :]

Well, I should stop stalling you. Enjoy this chapter!

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Apollo and Trucy entered the now dark offices with a bang. Apollo tripped into the room, and Trucy was laughing with her panties out. "Polly, don't be afraid! Just hold them for a little bit!" Trucy chirped.

Apollo shushed her.

"Hmm? Why are you shushing me?"

"Unh… Nick? Nick, where are you?"

Apollo facepalmed and Trucy covered her mouth.

"Oops," Trucy whispered. "Sorry, Maya, I don't think daddy's here. If he's not here, he's probably crying and drinking grape juice where no one can see him."

"Uh, I don't think Mr. Wright would be crying, Trucy…"Apollo looked over the couch to see Maya still wrapped in the blanket, but trying to wiggle out of it. Once free, she sat up. Apollo questioned, "Why is he emotionally drinking, anyways? What happened with you two while I was gone, hmm?"

Still half-asleep, Maya said, "I told him I was considering you or Larry to marry me." She sounded absentminded.

Apollo turned red, and covered his face. "W-why would you consider me? Mr. Wright is going to _kill me_ the next time he sees me!"

Trucy backed him up, saying, "Maya, don't you know how much Daddy likes you? I never told him, but when I would watch him sleep on the couch, he'd chant, 'Maya, Maya' and he wouldn't wake up, even if I poked his face."

Maya stretched and said, "But, I think Nick doesn't have any feelings for me. You saw how concerned he was with Iris, didn't you?"

Apollo paused. "You have a point… Besides, he never tells Trucy or me about these kinds of things."

Maya looked at the clock, and gasped. "Oh no! I've got to call Pearly and tell her everything!" She ran up and out the room, only sticking her head back in to say, "If you need me for anything, I'll be back at the hotel I was staying at."

Trucy and Apollo looked at each other after they couldn't hear the _clack_ of her slippers anymore.

"So, Trucy, what's your take on this?" He grazed his hand over his hair.

Trucy put away her panties and said, "I think there's a big misunderstanding behind all of this."

"What makes you think that?"

"I'm Daddy's daughter. I think he'd have to come to me with his girlfriend to see if I approve!"

Apollo looked at her skeptically. _Are you his daughter, or his mother?_

Trucy squished Apollo's cheeks together, saying, "That's not all, Polly. He carries that thing Maya wears around her neck."

Apollo's eyes widened a little. "He does?"

Trucy giggled, still squishing his cheeks. "Polly, you look like a fish."

Apollo facepalmed and groaned.

Trucy replied, "Anyways, he carries it everywhere! He even takes it out before playing poker. It's probably his good luck charm."

Apollo stroked his chin. "I think we should ask Mr. Wright directly, instead of just speculating. Where is he, Trucy? … Trucy?"

Trucy was already halfway down the hall and she yelled, "I'll race you there, Polly!"

Apollo started frantically, yelling back, "But I don't know where we're going, Trucy!"

Trucy just laughed.

The grape juice bottle fell on top of the other empty ones in the box as Phoenix leaned back and sighed heavily. "I think I'm _actually_ getting sick of grape juice," he muttered. He felt for the remote beside him and clicked on the television.

"_A new episode of Bronze Samurai will be airing this Saturday at 7:30 a.m.! Don't miss it!"_

"Still coming up with spinoffs, I see," Phoenix commented.

Tired of the commercials on the television, Phoenix pulled out the Magatama. _Huh_, he thought, _I wonder if keeping this would make me a spirit medium fetishist_. He looked at it against the light, to see its silhouette, when Trucy slammed the door open, startling Phoenix.

"I win!" Trucy announced.

Apollo, following shortly behind, panted pitifully. "Gee, Trucy, how can you run in those boots?" After wallowing in his shameful loss, he looked up at Phoenix, who was paralyzed from shock. He was still holding the Magatama.

"Trucy, you were right. He's holding that thing in his hand. Look."

When Phoenix finally realized they were talking about the Magatama, he asked cautiously, "Trucy, what does Apollo mean by 'you were right'…?"

Trucy flashed a shy smile and flapped her cape around. "Daddy, do you like Maya?"

Phoenix started to sweat. _Don't just throw a question like that at me! _He pulled his cap down and smiled. "Now, why would you think that, Trucy?" he said nervously. When it came to Maya, keeping his composure was almost impossible.

Luckily for Apollo, who could see Mr. Wright's nervous habits without trying, the bracelet gave only a slight pulse.

"Heh, Mr. Wright, there's no use trying to hide it," Apollo said proudly, "I can see you getting nervous."

Mr. Wright gave Apollo a dirty look and sighed. "Trucy, who gave you the idea to ask me a question like that?"

"Why, Maya did, Daddy," Trucy said innocently, flashing a smile.

Phoenix started to sweat more. _Oh, crap_, he thought.

Apollo slammed his hands on a table, much similar to the lawyer Phoenix, to catch the attention of the two. "Mr. Wright," Apollo said, pointing a finger at Phoenix, "_Is Maya your girlfriend?_"

At first, Phoenix looked really angry, but since he then looked at Trucy, his face softened up and he sighed. "You can call her whatever you want, but I guess to me she's just a really special friend. That's it."

Trucy looked disappointed. "That's it? I was expecting some amazing love confession from you, Daddy," Trucy said, pulling a camera from behind her still flapping cape.

Apollo and Phoenix both dropped their jaws. _How did she hide that all this time…? _They both thought about it quietly.

"Hmm," Apollo said, stroking his chin, "And to Maya, are you just friends?"

Phoenix REALLY didn't want to keep answering, especially since Trucy's eyes were getting wider and wider behind the camera she was holding. He swallowed, and said pathetically, "Yes."

Apollo had a surprised look on his face. "He looks like he really hated that last answer," he muttered. He turned his attention on Trucy, and said, "Trucy, looks like you were right!"

Trucy hopped up and down, and squealed, "Yippee!"

Phoenix stared at them, very confused. "Um, Trucy, sweetie, what's Apollo talking about?"

Trucy laughed a very superior-sounding laugh. "Why," she said in the most obnoxious voice she could make, "there has been a misunderstanding between you and Ms. Fey."

There was a slight pause. Phoenix, realizing Trucy wasn't going to tell him _what_ the misunderstanding was, asked, "Then what would this misunderstanding be?"

"About what else? It's about your hot, burning passion for one another!"

After these words were spoken, the room broke into an extremely awkward silence. Since no one was saying anything, Trucy put away her camera.

Phoenix was thinking about saying something along the lines of, "_Trucy, don't mess with Daddy's heart_", but that would only further their notion of them being madly in love with each other.

Trucy broke the silence with a sneeze. It seemed that prancing around the midnight air was not suited for a girl in Trucy's outfit.

_Déjà vu_, Phoenix said, shivering."Trucy, it looks like you're sick. Come grab a blanket."

As Trucy jumped into the safety and warmth of the blanket and Phoenix watched, Apollo took out his phone. It was 2:18 in the morning.

"Um, Mr. Wright, Trucy, I think I'll be heading home now. I need my sleep too, you know." Apollo then stood still waiting for a reply from one of them, but when the room was quiet, he just slipped out, then breathing in the very cold—but fresh—air.

Maya sat scribbling on a notepad labeled "GATEWATER HOTEL" at the top. When she stopped writing, she hit the pen against her head, creating a monotone. She was writing things to mention when she called Pearl in the afternoon.

There was a knock on her door. _I wonder who that could be. It's 2 in the morning!_ Maya thought, walking to the door and dropping the notepad.

As she opened the door, a girl cried, "Mystic Mayaaaaaaa!" She jumped into Maya arms and was shivering.

"Pearly?" Maya said, shocked. "What are _you _doing _here_? You were supposed to be in charge of Kurain!"

"But, I thought Mystic Maya might have been kidnapped again because she never called me—" Pearl and Maya sneezed.

Maya laughed, and Pearl along with her. "Okay, okay, Pearly, just lie in the covers and tell me what happened."

The sixteen-year-old spirit medium leaped onto the bed and buried herself in the blanket. Her pale brown hair stood out against the bright red pillows and blanket.

"I was waiting all day for your call, Mystic Maya," Pearl said, her voice a bit muffled under the sheets.

"Sorry," Maya said, pulling out some snacks. "Truth is, I just found Nick today."

Pearl's face lit up. "Oh! Then you must have been doing—" Pearl started blushing a little, "—things that 'special ones' do with each other, right?" She was referring to kissing, of course.

Maya dropped her snacks, her face a little red. She quickly got down, picking them up. "No, Pearly, we've had it all wrong," Maya said, a laugh following. "Nick married Iris."

Pearl threw the sheets off her and stood up. "Mr. Nick DID WHAT?" Tears bubbled out of her eyes. "I'm disappointed in him!"

Maya put an arm around her and wiped her tears. "Now, now, don't cry. It's all right; I'll find someone else to marry." She offered her a juice box.

Pearl took it and started sipping it. "But does he not know how long you two were each other's 'special someone'? It infuriates me that he never bothered to mention it earlier when you came all the way out here just to see him…" Pearl pulled out a stack of letters from the small bag she had brought, all from Phoenix.

Maya grabbed the stack and wanted desperately to read them, but she asked Pearl for her permission first. "Um, Pearly, may I?"

Pearly smiled and said, "Go ahead, Mystic Maya. There's nothing to hide."

As she read the first letter, it seemed that Pearl had been keeping in touch with Phoenix through letters for the past seven years. The letter read:

_Dear Pearls,_

_I know we might not see each other in a while, so I'm putting you in charge of watching Maya. You know how deep she can get into trouble, so I'll know you do just that._

_Sincerely,_

_Mr. Nick_

Each letter got more and more extensive, and only the last five letters were about Maya specifically. As she reached the end of the pile, she slowly read the last letter, which said:

_Dear Pearls,_

_Maya's coming to visit me? That would be nice, but I think it's a bad time. Like I've said, I got disbarred and I don't want Maya to see me as I am now. When I planned on how I would approach her the next time I saw her, I couldn't think of anything. I bet she must have matured and grown into a woman I won't even recognize… So how about this, Pearls? Tell Maya to visit me in her old acolyte clothes so I can recognize her on the spot. Maybe by then, I'll know what to say. If not, let me play it out. Isn't if funny, Pearls, how Maya _really is _my 'special someone'? Don't tell her I said that… It would embarrass me if Maya ever heard me say that... Well, Pearls, I'm going to end this letter. Stay well, and I'll be expecting Maya now. Till next time!_

_Sincerely,_

_Mr. Nick_

Maya blushed as she read "_Maya _really is _my 'special someone'_" over and over. She held the paper down, her eyes wide open. "Pearly," Maya managed to utter, "I'll talk to him tomorrow."

As she said these words, she crawled into bed and Pearl jumped in too.

"Of course," Pearl whispered to herself, "You and Mr. Nick will surely work everything out."

They both fell asleep right away, at exactly 3:01 a.m.


	5. Let's Get Investigating

Chapter 5! I thought that it was time that I incorporated _a little _of Apollo's investigation because I wrote that he got the case.

Meh. I don't like.

This story and my second one are really difficult to juggle, because they have the same things happen in them =.=

Well, enjoy this chapter! :]

(... And review, please ;D)

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**Everything crashes into Nick and I, and we have our hands tied together. I don't remember how we even got into this situation.**

"_Whoa, I think I'm a little dizzy from that fall… You alright, Maya?"_

**My voice is quiet and shaken.**

"_Y-yeah, I'm okay."_

**Then, I pipe up, deciding this was as good a moment as any. I breathe in.**

"_Hey, Nick."_

"_What is it, Maya?"_

**I pause, choosing my words carefully.**

"_If you ever get out of this alive, would you want to marry someone like me?"_

**I hear a chuckle. It's Nick.**

"_Maya, believe it or not, but I've been waiting seven long years for this moment."_

**I pause again, confirming whether or not I should be happy.**

"_So, is that a yes?"_

"_Do you love hamburgers?"_

"_Heck yeah!"_

**My voice echoes through the dark corridor.**

"_Well then, I guess you know my answer."_

**He's about to turn his head to look at me, and when our eyes finally meet…**

Maya's eyes flashed open. _I had that same dream again, _Maya thought, rolling out of bed. _If only I could finish it…_

Pearl was up, and just got out of the shower. She saw Maya out of bed and chirped, "Good morning, Mystic Maya."

"Good morning, Pearly," Maya responded. "Hey, Pearly. Can I ask you a question?"

"Ask away, Mystic Maya!" Pearl's eyes lit up, because she was excited that Maya had something to ask her.

"If you were a 34-year-old man, how would you want to get proposed to?"

Pearl thought the question was a little weird. "Hmm," she thought aloud, "That's strange, Mystic Maya. Were you planning on proposing to Mr. Nick?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, in the stories I've heard, the man usually proposes to the woman, does he not?"

Pearl was absolutely right. And the fact that Maya was going to propose to Phoenix sounded a little intimidating to her, now that she was thinking of all the things that could go wrong.

But Maya couldn't back down now.

"Pearly, this might be my last chance. I'm going to have to risk it and propose to him myself."

Pearl clasped Maya's hands together and smiled widely. "Don't worry, Mystic Maya! No matter what, I'm cheering for you!"

Maya ran out the door, and started to the office. _I have to get there as fast as I can! _Maya thought, and then her stomach growled. _But not before breakfast!_ She cracked herself up.

Maya got a burger and a soda with the change from yesterday's purchase and started again for Phoenix's office. This time, her slipper got stuck in a wad of gum and she tripped.

_Great, a Gumshoe!_ Maya thought, pulling the slipper from the ground. She laughed as she did it. She thought she was hilarious.

She slowly, cautiously tiptoed to the office, as to not get into any more incidents.

Unfortunately for her, that little old lady looked like she needed to cross the street. Maya couldn't leave the helpless lady alone, so she hesitantly walked up to the woman and asked politely, "Excuse me, do you need help crossing the street?"

The old lady pulled off the endless layers of sweaters, bandannas, and jackets, revealing Wendy Oldbag. Maya shuddered violently.

"You whippersnapper! What makes you think I need help crossing the street? I'm looking for my Edgey-Poo, of course!" chattered Oldbag angrily.

_Then why did you have to disguise yourself?_ Maya thought to herself. _Wait, I know the answer to that already…_

Oldbag kept talking, even as Maya walked away. "You remind me of this boy I used to have to be interested in! I chose to wear something nice because we both walked to school, and as he saw me, he said, 'Do you need help crossing the street? You look just as helpless as my grandmother.' I WAS A DELICATE, BEAUTIFUL GIRL OF THIRTEEN, AND HE MISTAKES ME FOR AN OLD WOMAN? This world has degraded to no-good people because of whippersnappers like you! ..."

Maya walked faster, and slowed down when she couldn't hear Oldbag anymore. "Wow, who would've thought I'd see Oldbag here!" Maya said casually. Then, she stopped. "Wait…" she said slowly to herself, "Oldbag looked the same way she did seven years ago…" This thought was eternally burned into her brain, and she hurried to the office to escape it, like the thought was chasing her like a rabid animal.

Maya stood, staring at the door in front of her. She breathed in and loudly rather loudly, giving herself a pep-talk. "Okay, Maya, it's now or never! You've got to do this!"

Suddenly, the door opened to reveal Trucy. "Maya!" she chirped, hugging Maya. "What're you doing here? I thought there was a crazy person at the door; all I heard were heavy pants and someone talking to herself…"

"I'm here to see Nick," she said nervously. She looked down, just in case her face was turning red.

Trucy stared at Maya's "topknot", wanting to use it like a punching bag, and said, "Daddy and Polly are out—they're visiting Iris."

Maya knew now that she was red. "Oh. I think I'll just come back later, then."

As Maya turned to walk away shamefully, Trucy grabbed her arm and insisted, "Maya, why don't you just stay here? Daddy and Polly could be coming back any minute!"

Maya considered this, and gave in. "All right," Maya said, "As long as it's not a problem."

Trucy smiled, and walked her in. She noticed Trucy's outfit and smacked her own face. "I'm sorry," Maya said, "I forgot to return your clothes!" She kept smacking her face until Trucy started giggling.

"Mayaaaaaa," Trucy said in a chime, "Wouldn't it be better if you kept that costume?"

"What do you mean?" Maya was confused.

Trucy giggled even more. "Don't play dumb with me! Daddy kissed you 'cause he thought you were me, riiiiight?"

Trucy playfully elbowed Maya, who was going beet red.

Maya sighed, and she thought aloud, "Stop embarrassing me. I mean, imagine if Nick walked in right now to hear me say that his unshaven face woke me up, and his bristly face and not his kiss was probably the tingling on my cheek?"

Trucy laughed, and replied, "Maybe I should tell him to shave." She moved in closer to Maya, and whispered to her, "His face tickles me too, and it bothers me now."

The two of them laughed more.

At that moment, Phoenix sneezed loudly. He sniffed and said, "Huh. Did I catch Maya's cold?"

He looked at his surroundings—he was at the detention center. He looked in front of him, and Apollo was questioning Iris. Apparently she had poisoned someone while they were speaking at a table, much like her twin sister Dahlia did with Diego Armando.

_Dahlia_, Phoenix thought, and the memory of how horrid she looked as her ghost dispossessed Maya's body came to mind.

He then looked at Iris, who was staring at him, and he noticed she was crying. He swallowed, and asked, "What's wrong?"

She sniffed a little and said softly, "Feenie, you just… you look… _different_."

Apollo then turned toward Phoenix, since Iris ignored his question to converse with Phoenix.

"Iris, that doesn't have anything to do with Apollo's question," Phoenix replied.

Iris said back, "That's true… but I thought I'd just mention that to you… It's just that… your new look… it's, um, _unique_."

"It's not unique, it's pretty common for men like me… Oh."

He knew where she was getting at, and he had to stop her before she got even more hurt later. He sighed loudly, replying, "There's not much of a reason to look good if it's impossible to visit the person you like, right?" He turned a little pink, imagining Maya hear him say this.

Apollo thought he heard a sizzle from Iris—her face was completely red and drenched in tears.

Phoenix turned around and started walking to the exit, saying to Apollo, "I'm going to get a little fresh air."

He opened the heavy doors to the outside and sat on a bench.

As he sat, the bench squeaked a little. He didn't mind it and buried his face in his hands. _Phoenix Wright, you are the stupidest person in the world_, he thought to himself.

"Um…" Someone stood behind Phoenix. Alerted, he quickly turned his head to find Apollo.

"What's wrong, Apollo?"

"Mr. Wright," Apollo complained, "You left my client as an emotional train wreck, you know." He hastily sat down on the bench and sighed loudly. "I can't understand her answers to my questions when she's sobbing and hiccupping while she talks."

Phoenix buried his face even deeper into his hands.

The only word his lips seemed to process out of the tsunami of sentences he wanted to say was: "Crap."

Apollo chuckled. "Mr. Wright," he started, "I'm not as smooth as you with women, but I don't think it's good to _try_ to make them cry."

Phoenix lifted his head just enough to pierce through Apollo with a malicious glare.

"You wouldn't understand, Justice," he muttered. "I guarantee it."

Apollo popped a vein, but he let it slide. "Ha-ha… you're _so_ funny, Mr. Wright. Now, about the case…"

He started to explain all the information he managed to collect from Iris, and Phoenix listened to him.

"… And then she said they decided to arrest her because she was the only other person sitting at that table," Apollo finished.

Phoenix thought for a second, and then thought aloud, "Déjà vu…"

"Excuse me?" Apollo said, crashing into Phoenix's train of thought.

"Actually," Phoenix replied, "Iris' dead twin sister did something exactly like this. The poisoning someone while eating thing, I mean."

Apollo's jaw dropped. "Iris has a twin? A DEAD twin?"

Phoenix had a nauseated look on his face. "Let's just say that she and I used to 'go out'…"

"What? Mr. Wright, how come you get all these attractive girls? Trucy always tells me that when you told her about when you were younger—"

Phoenix threw a look at him that meant "Do you _really _want to start a fight, Justice?"

"—why, you were just amazing!" Apollo started sweating a little.

Phoenix groaned. "Aside from that point, I think that this is just a little too ridiculous to be coincidence."

"I agree, Mr. Wright."

"Did they find Iris' fingerprints on the poisoned cup?"

"No… Only the victim's fingerprints covered the cup."

"Did the police even bother to search for the container holding the poison…?"

Apollo fidgeted. "That's the thing, Mr. Wright, they couldn't find anything."

Phoenix facepalmed. "You just _had_ to choose an impossible case, didn't you? You remind me of another hopeless lawyer I know…"

"But—!" Apollo butted in, "I'll turn it around, just like you. Just watch!" As he yelled, he ran back into the center, having found new motivation.

"Iris! I—" Apollo started to say, but all he saw in the room on the other side of the glass was the silent guard.

"Your client was just sent back to her cell. Come back later," the guard quietly said.

Apollo turned a little pink, too embarrassed to walk back to Phoenix so soon after preaching about turning the whole case around. Apollo then decided to sit in the center and go through his papers.

Q. First of all, when and where did the murder take place?

A. November 11th at 12:53 p.m., in the prison cafeteria. (The bracelet did not react to this statement)

Q. How did the murder take place?

A. The victim took a sip of her coffee, and she started to gag. She grabbed her throat, and she collapsed onto the table. (No reaction)

Q. What do you know about the murder?

A. The victim was murdered with a very visible poison; it was clearly obvious that the cup was sabotaged. I don't know anything about the poison. (My bracelet reacted to her last sentence)

Q. Whose fingerprints were on the cup?

A. The victim's. I didn't touch the cup anytime that day. (No reaction)

Q. Did the police uncover the container holding the poison?

A. No, they couldn't find it on my person… and they forgot to check the victim's person. (No reaction)

The rest of the questions on Apollo's papers were unanswered, since Iris broke down after the third one.

Apollo sighed, and thought, _The trial is in two days, and I don't think I'll be able to get a lot more information from Iris. I'm going to have to place all my faith in that little reaction my bracelet…_ _Unless…_


	6. Caught!

Well, I just finished writing another chapter, so here's chapter 6 :]

This story is already half-done D:

BOO. I know (x

Anyways, enjoy!

(And review ;D)

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Iris sat in a corner of her cell. She was trembling, and her prison mate just laughed at her weakness. "You know, you can't survive prison living like a pansy," the girl sneered, "But you can't survive if you shut out your lawyer, either."

Iris looked at her prison mate thoughtfully, trying to ensure her that she was just fine without her insults.

She tried to clear her mind of everything, but that futile act just flooded her mind with thoughts of her dead twin sister.

_Dahlia…_ Iris thought, shuddering.

First, she remembered how she poisoned Diego Armando.

Then, she remembered how she used and almost killed Phoenix.

Lastly, she remembered how horrifying Dahlia looked as she possessed Maya.

"_Iris, you are so useless,"_ Dahlia echoed in her head. _"You can't even _try_ to emulate my crimes."_

_I'm not trying to emulate you! _Iris thought on the verge of tears. _I didn't do anything… I didn't do anything…_

Iris was trembling uncontrollably in the corner, and then she laughed quietly, whispering, "I wonder how pathetic Feenie would think me if he saw me right now."

Iris cried loudly, and it echoed through the dark, hallowed halls of the prison.

The guard watched Iris cry a little, since there was not a prisoner who caved in as easily as her. After he realized he had to get back to his post in the small little room, he sighed.

As he managed to get himself comfortable in the cramped corner, Apollo eyed his paper, and he started sweating.

The guard stared at him, and Apollo tried to nonchalantly walk up to the glass to speak with the guard.

"Excuse me," Apollo said, tapping on the glass with a stressed smile on his face.

The guard glared at a little sticker on the glass Apollo tapped.

"_NO TAPPING ON THE GLASS_".

As Apollo read it, his smile was torn off, and he tried to talk to the guard again.

"Excuse me, when do you think you'll be able to let me question my client? I _really_ need to talk to her."

The guard, who pitied Iris, knew that she had to be questioned to let her out.

"… I can get her right now. But this is the only time this is happening."

Apollo got wide-eyed, and slowly sat in the chair, waiting for someone to appear on the other side of the glass. He shuffled his papers around; he needed to get as many questions out of her as he could in as little time as possible.

As Apollo heard the creak of the metal door on the other side of the glass, Iris appeared with her hair a mess as she stared at what seemed like nothing on the floor.

Apollo swallowed and looked at the guard.

"This prisoner is mentally unstable right now."

Apollo tried to laugh it off, but he realized he was incapable at laughing at something so detrimental to his case.

_Thanks so much, Mr. Wright. Drop a bomb on my client and just leave. It's JUST what I needed_, thought Apollo, sighing and looking up at Iris.

As he tried to look at _which_ tile she was staring at on the floor, he noticed a little blue piece on fluff on the floor.

_I bet she's looking at that_, Apollo thought. He thrust his head violently, cutting off Iris' view of the fluff.

Iris' eyes widened, and she gasped.

"… Mr. Justice, are you… okay?" Iris said cautiously, bracing herself for any other unpredictable stunt he might play.

Apollo smiled. "Welcome back."

Iris had a confused look on her face, but all Apollo did was start shuffling his stack of papers and begin asking her questions.

"So, Iris," Apollo began. "Why did the prison guards present forget to check the victim's person?"

Iris looked up and thought for a long time. "Well, the guard there was pretty old. When he saw me screeching next to the carcass, he muttered, 'Déjà vu…' and searched me up and down. I guess he was a bailiff watching the cafeteria when my sister poisoned Mr. Armando… He probably thought I was my sister."

As Apollo finished copying down what Iris said, he asked another question.

"What happened after they apprehended you?"

"They asked me about how I managed to smuggle poison into the prison. I told them that I didn't do it, and all they did was stare at me."

He laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood. All he did was make it more awkward than he originally thought.

When the silence finally got to Apollo, he quickly looked through his paper again and found a question that had popped into his mind earlier that day.

"Iris, how did you meet and come to be so much in love with Mr. Wright?"

Iris turned away from Apollo with a melancholy look on her face.

"It was all Dahlia's idea."

"Excuse me?"

"She made me date him! Feenie! At first, I honestly didn't know how to feel… he could never take a hint, and after begging for the bottle of poison back for so many months… I fell in love with him."

"I see…" Apollo said, shuffling his papers once again.

"You," Iris stuttered, "y-you're not going to write this down and tell Feenie right?"

Apollo shook his head, and proceeded with questioning her.

As Apollo was about to ask her a question, Iris blurted out, "Why did you ask me that question?"

Apollo looked at her straight in the eye, and said, "Why, I was just curious."

Iris blushed.

"I think you're tired of reminiscing about personal matters to your lawyer. Now, where were we…"

Phoenix was fixing his blue skullcap when he checked his old cell phone for the time—it was around lunch time.

_Might as well swing by the office and bring Trucy a burger_,Phoenix thought, slowly getting up like an old man.

After opening his wallet to see just what he could afford, he noticed he didn't have any money in his wallet but a couple of dollars.

He groaned, as he was already standing in front of the burger joint. He was tired of walking.

On the walk back to his office, Trucy walked toward him, silently chanting something.

"Trucy, sweetie," Phoenix said, backing away a little. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting food, Daddy," Trucy said, a smile on her face. "Would you like to accompany your daughter to the burger place?"

Phoenix looked down at his tired feet, and replied, "No thanks, sweetie. I was just buying food for you, anyway. Be sure to be careful on your way to the burger joint, all right?" And with that, he slowly trudged away, his feet already killing him.

After ten minutes of hell, Phoenix stood at the door of his office. He sluggishly pulled out the key, weakly put it in the keyhole, took his time twisting the key, and he _finally _turned the doorknob.

He plopped himself onto the couch, got as comfy as possible, and slid his skullcap over his eyes. _Finally, _he thought victoriously, _a moment of silence for me to relax…_ He fell asleep, a peaceful smirk pasted on his face.

Maya popped her head out of the kitchen and scanned the room, saying, "Trucy, are you back already? That was… quick…" She laid her eyes on a sleeping Phoenix, right on the couch.

They were alone.

After Maya pulled out some napkins and a couple of plastic plates, she peeked again to see if Phoenix was still sleeping. He was.

Maya smiled and gently tiptoed to Phoenix's side. She examined his unshaven face, and looked at the bristles covering his chin and the sides of the face.

She laughed a little, thinking, _Why doesn't Nick shave his face? He looks like a hobo._ She grazed her hand over Phoenix's face _just_ close enough to feel the tickle of the bristles. This made her laugh a little more.

Then, she poked the sides of his face. Phoenix uttered an annoyed sound like, "Nngh," and placed his right hand on the side of his face.

As Maya examined his hand, she wanted to compare his hand to hers. She held up his hand, and placed hers against it. She marveled at how small and smooth her hand looked compared to his, and, like a reflex, clasped his hand and also closed his hand.

When she noticed she did this, she blushed a little and smiled. "Thank _goodness _he's not awake," she whispered in relief.

Phoenix moved a little, and slowly lifted the skullcap from his eyes, looking a little groggy and tired.

With a dazed look on his face, he stared at Maya and at his hand.

Maya turned tomato red, and looked at Phoenix and her hand more frantically.

"Oh, Nick, sorry if I woke you," Maya said nervously, "I was just, um, comparing our hands and this and that happened, and…"

Suddenly, the door slammed open. "I'm baaaack!" Trucy said, holding up a bag of greasy burgers.

This made Maya jump up, and made Phoenix's eyes fly open. He was wide awake, and when he looked at his hand this time, he also went tomato red. "Maya…" he started, "Um, what is this?"

Maya got even redder, and started speaking gibberish.

All Trucy did was stand at the door, unable to see what the two were even doing. "Daddy, what's going on?" Trucy said. Unbeknownst to the two behind the couch, Trucy was beaming—if she played innocent while they were having their moment, she would embarrass them for sure.

"N-nothing, Trucy," Phoenix stuttered.

Maya weakly backed him up, saying, "Y-y-yeah, Trucy. We were doing anything…"

Trucy laughed a little, not believing them, and started walking backwards. "I think I'll just give you two _a little_ privacy!" She shut the door, and pressed her ear against it.

Maya pulled her hand away, but Phoenix caught it. Now her hand was in the middle of his two hands. She gulped.

"Now," Phoenix said, trying to look serious, but failed since his ears were still red, "What were you doing?"

"H-holding your hand," Maya stuttered, "It was cold."

Phoenix had a disappointed look on his face. "Uh, that's all? No ulterior motive or anything…?"

Maya had a shocked look on her face… and _countless_ Psyche-Locks appeared.

Soon, many of them deteriorated as Maya put a determined look on her face. There was only one left.

Phoenix widened his eyes.

"I guess there's a first for everything," he muttered. He put a successful serious look on, and informed Maya, "I know you're hiding something. But I also know you want to tell me. You're hesitating."

Phoenix held the Magatama in his hand, a faint glow still coming from it.

Maya widened her eyes too. "NICK," she started, "Stop being such a cheater!" She tried to grab the Magatama from him, but utterly failed as he put his arm all the way up in the air.

_No… Nick can't know yet! I'm not ready!_ Maya thought, panicking to herself. _I just realized that proposing to Nick isn't the same as proposing to Larry or Apollo… or the deck brush at the hotel. He's different. _Maya was determined to hide the proposal from Phoenix until she decided _she _was ready.

She tried stretching her arm closer to the Magatama, thinking of a better way to do this. She then realized that if she stood up, she could reach it, since he was still sitting down.

"Aha! Take that, Nick!" Maya yelled victoriously as she quickly stood up. Unfortunately for her, Phoenix stood up too.

"Grr," Maya muttered, "This is futile!" She quickly ran to the kitchen to grab something that made a loud crashing sound when it was taken from its place.

Phoenix looked nervous. "Maya…" he said, "What did you get?"

Maya ran out of the kitchen with something long and heavy-looking tucked under her arm. She backed Phoenix into a corner, and then she pulled it out from under her arm.

Phoenix started to sweat. _She brought out a stepladder?_

Maya's cheeks puffed up as she climbed the first two steps. "Nick, I can tell what you're thinking. This is a ladder. An L-A-D-D-E-R. Not a stepladder, just a ladder."

_Wait, I've been in this situation before—and more than once… _He sweated even more.

Nervously, Phoenix thought about what even got him to this moment in his life. "Right," he murmured, "Maya's hiding something."


	7. Persuaded by the Right Person

Well, here's chapter 7.

I think I'm going to get slower at updating, because I'm having difficulty with one _teeny weeny _thing that's coming up in the story.

Enjoy! :]

(AND REVIEW :3)

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Apollo was walking down the hall to the office to proudly tell Trucy and Phoenix about all the information he managed to get that day.

But, as walked, he saw a frozen stiff Trucy sitting on the floor with her ear still to the door.

Apollo could hear the screams of Phoenix and Maya, too.

"Maya, stop it!"

"I'm not stopping until I get what I want!"

He started to sweat. _Mr. Wright. Maya. Alone in a room. SCREAMING. Why do I suddenly feel awkward?_

Trucy looked up at him with hollowed out eyes. "Polly, they've been screaming for twenty minutes now. How can they still be screaming? Don't their voices hurt?"

Apollo chuckled very nervously. "Trucy, I bet they're just… having an argument. Yeah. That's it."

The shine came back to Trucy's eyes, and she replied, "Oh, maybe_ that's _why they keep yelling out 'Magatama', 'Magatama', and stuff."

Apollo walked up to the door, and Trucy sprung up.

He slowly and silently opened the door… Or he _tried to_—the door's hinges were rusty and they squeaked loudly. He cringed as the slow squeak would reveal their spying.

Neither Phoenix nor Maya heard it. They were too busy yelling at each other.

The sight would've confused many—Phoenix and Maya were arguing in a corner behind an unfolded ladder (or stepladder!) and Phoenix's face was a little pink. Maya, on the other hand, continued to yell at him, still trying to reach the Magatama. Maya's body was against Phoenix's in her attempt to snatch the little Magatama from his clutches.

Trucy turned to Apollo. "Polly, why are they arguing in a corner behind a _step_ladder? This doesn't make any sense…"

Apollo looked from the two to Trucy, and said, "Again, Trucy, it's a ladder. And there's _probably_ a rational reason behind this." He turned away from Trucy and muttered, "But since it has to do with Mr. Wright and Maya, I bet the reason's going to sound really stupid."

Trucy, agreeing completely with Apollo (for once) cleared her throat and chirped loudly, "WE'RE BAAAAACK!"

As soon as they heard Trucy, they both turned their attention to her and Apollo, their eyes wide open.

Apollo walked forward like a suspicious parent and asked, "Is there something you two would like to explain to us?" He tapped his foot to pressure and embarrass them even more.

Maya climbed over the ladder (or stepladder!) and walked up to them. When she reached them, she looked down, and wrinkled her robes like a guilty child. "Well," she started, "you see…"

Phoenix climbed over and stood next to Maya.

"Apollo, stop acting tough," Phoenix said, trying to stand up to him. He even straightened his posture—which made Apollo look like he had shrunken.

He immediately deflated, though, when Trucy walked in front of him and gave him a pout.

_Mr. Wright is really intimidating_, Apollo thought, _but when it comes to Trucy, he's a real pushover._

"Explain yourselves!" Trucy demanded, pretending to interrogate them. She even pointed at her father as his cue to answer her.

Phoenix looked down at his sandals, and said, "This thing here—the Magatama—it shows me if someone's hiding a secret in their heart. Maya was hiding one, so I was showing her that I knew. And she… she didn't want to know that I knew that she was hiding something so she tried taking it away from me and—"

Apollo waved his hands. "Okay, Mr. Wright," Apollo said slowly. "You can speak slower, like I am. You're not going to be hit if you speak slower, don't worry. And please, try to make sense."

As Apollo and Trucy were busy staring at Phoenix—who was looking for the right words—Maya tried to make a getaway. She backed up subtly. Then, she dashed for the door.

Trucy's eye had a little glimmer in them—she knew Maya would pull a stunt like this. "Aha!" she exclaimed, pulling out Mr. Hat.

Maya, who had not seen this trick before, sputtered, "What the heck is—" before Trucy glomped her.

Trucy yelled, "There's no use trying to escape! We've got you surrounded!" By "we", Trucy meant her, Apollo, and Mr. Hat, but the two were enough to overwhelm Maya.

She backed off, standing next to Phoenix. Again. _Back at square one_, she thought morbidly. Phoenix gave her a look that practically said, _Nice try. Too bad you failed._

Apollo, turning to a sullen-looking Maya, brainstormed something. "Wait," Apollo said, "Could Maya be hiding what I think she's hiding?"

They all turned to Maya, who was turning very red. "W-what are you talking about?" She was panicking now. Her head whipped around from Phoenix to Trucy to Apollo and back.

Phoenix lifted his head. "Could it be…?"

"Trucy," Apollo asked, "are you going to say what I think you're going to say?"

Trucy laughed. "Why, Maya, you're hiding your hot, burning passion for my da—I mean, Mr. Wright."

Maya had a surprised look on her face. But, as soon as the look came, it went. "I think… I should head back to the hotel. It's getting pretty late. See you guys later…!"

Phoenix still saw one Psyche-Lock on Maya even as she quickly stumbled out the door. He sighed.

Trucy blinked. "What? That wasn't it? I could've bet all the secrets to my tricks that that was it."

Phoenix stroked his unshaven chin. "You probably needed to word that better, sweetie. That didn't break her Psyche-Lock."

_Psyche-Lock?_ Apollo thought to himself.

Trucy took the initiative to ask the question lingering in Apollo's and her minds, especially since she was very confused. "Huh? Daddy, what's a Psycholock?" she asked innocently.

Phoenix finally caught himself and chuckled tensely. He said, "Trucy, what are you talking about? I never mentioned a… Er, 'Psycholock'… or anything like that."

Apollo's bracelet got very tight around his wrist. It hurt him, making him grumble something inaudible and then he remembered his investigation. "Oh! Trucy, Mr. Wright! Guess what, I got lots of information for my trial tomorrow!"

Trucy didn't seem to show any concern for that. Phoenix stared at him, and then smirked. "Is this your way of telling me that I don't have to be at your trial to help out…?"

Apollo started to sweat. "Oh! Trucy, Mr. Wright! Guess what, I _barely _got any information for my trial tomorrow!"

Apollo laughed nervously, but Trucy didn't get why.

_Wonder how Maya's feeling right now…_ Phoenix thought, folding the ladder (or stepladder!).

Slowly, she trudged. And she opened the door to her hotel room just as slowly—maybe even slower.

"I'm back," Maya said dejectedly. She looked around the room to find a bigger Pearl sitting on the bed, reading a note. The bigger Pearl looked up, and smiled softly. "Maya," she said, "What's this about you getting married?"

Maya blushed, for the bigger Pearl was in fact her older sister, Mia. "Sis, about the marriage," she quietly said, "I can't do it. I don't even have the guts to propose."

"Care to explain the situation to me?" Mia's tone of voice was smooth and calm.

After Maya explained everything, Mia inhaled. She had decided this was better a time than any to get something off her chest. "If you've set your mind on marrying Phoenix, you _have to_. If you hesitate, you might regret it. I never told anyone, but…" Mia looked at Maya, a frown on her face. "You remember Diego, right?"

Maya's eyes widened. Mia NEVER talked about Diego Armando. Ever. "Y-yeah, I remember him. What about him?"

"You know how he got poisoned while questioning Dahlia Hawthorne?"

"Um, yeah. Where is this heading?" Maya had a nervous look on her face. _Sis's answer is going to be so unexpected, I can just tell_, she thought.

"We were supposed to meet _after_ the questioning," Mia started, "and after he was poisoned, when the police checked his person, he had a little box with a wedding ring inside his pocket."

Maya froze. She didn't know how to feel; was she supposed to feel sad? Angry? Rather, the only thing she felt was confusion.

Mia continued. "This is probably the reason why Dahlia had a chance to slip the poison in his coffee. He was distracted—thinking about _how _and _when_ he would propose to me." She exhaled, and she looked like a heavy burden was lifted off her shoulders. It almost looked like she was going to cry, but she stopped herself. She _had to be strong_, for Maya.

Maya's eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, Sis…" She walked up to her sister and embraced her tightly. "You should've told me sooner." After a couple of minutes of Maya hugging tightly and Mia patting her back, Maya looked up at Mia, and a question popped into her head. "Hey, Sis?"

"Yes, Maya?" Mia's eyes were soft and gentle, just like they were when she was still alive.

Maya tried to form her question into words. "Why…" she started to ask, "why don't you ever _talk_ to Mr. Armando?"

Mia paused, thinking about her answer. "Well, if I visit him, and we kiss, for instance, _Pearl_ would be kissing him. And it's going to be harder for the both of us if we reunite after so long just to know I'd be leaving again." She tried to smile, but her eyes showed her sorrow. "I would REALLY love to see him again, but it's just going to hurt more."

Maya was about to start crying again, but she blinked continuously and her tears disappeared. "Sis?"

"Yes, Maya?"

"This is a pretty abrupt question, but… Do you think Nick would be happy if we got married?"

Mia laughed, and her expression lightened. "Maya, you don't know _how happy _Phoenix would be if you two got married."

"What? Do you REALLY mean that?" Maya had a look of disbelief and happiness on her face. This was the first time she was seriously confident about proposing to Phoenix. "In that case…"

And then, Maya's stomach growled. She blushed because her appetite ruined the Fey sisters' happy moment.

Mia laughed, and shooed her, asking, "I'm guessing you'll be getting some burgers?" Mia pulled out a small wad of cash and handed it to Maya. "Courtesy of Pearl," she remarked. "She said you were running low on money."

Maya put the small wad in a bag that lay on her bed and started out the door. "Thanks, Sis! And write a note to Pearl telling her I say thanks to her too!" Maya dashed out the door, one hand on her stomach, the other clutching the bag.

Mia laughed again, and reread the note from Pearl to her. It read:

_Dear Mystic Mia,_

_I'm channeling you because I'm almost completely sure that Mystic Maya will not go through with her proposal. By the way, she's proposing to Mr. Nick! I always knew they were each other's "special someone". I just think Mystic Maya needs a little push, so can you please just give her that push? I know that you of all people can do it! Also, please give Mystic Maya the money in the little bag on the bed. She barely has any money left, and these were the funds for my trip here. Thank you very much in advance!_

_Sincerely, Pearl Fey_

_P.S. Mystic Maya _must _channel you next so we may meet next!_

She turned the paper over, grabbed a pen, and scribbled on the blank side:

_Pearl,_

_Thank you so much. Thanks for letting me see Maya, and thanks for letting me feel the breath of life more than I was meant to. Maya says thank you too, for the money. Once again, she's having burgers. And don't worry; I know we'll meet again soon._

_Mia_

After she put the pen and paper down, she closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes, "she" was now Pearl. Pearl read the paper, folded it, put it in her little travel bag, and grinned. She knew in her heart that Maya would _surely _propose now.


	8. Going to Court

Finally, chapter 8!

Sorry for the late-ish update D: I'm halfway done with a crucial chapter (which is probably the 2nd to last one? Hmm...).

Updates will get slower and slower, especially since I'm now working on more than 5 fan fictions at once!

Yeah, I got really into doing this :]

Anyway, get ready for some major fluff in a few chapters!

By the way, I would like to thank my readers for all the reviews! I get happy knowing you're happy about the story :D

Enjoy, and review please :3

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Maya ordered her usual: One number five with a large soda. As she sat at a table for two, she rummaged through the small bag that contained her burger money. At the very bottom, she found a blank piece of paper and a pencil.

Maya placed the paper and pencil on the table. She didn't know what to do with it.

"Order number sixty-seven!"

Maya looked up. That was her order. She got up and retrieved her bag and cup of heaven. As she took the first bite of her juicy burger, a light bulb in the burger joint lit up above her. Her eyes lit up. _That's it_, Maya thought, _let's compare how easy I thought proposing would be to how difficult it really is…_

Maya put down her burger while eating—a first—and she started to scribble amateurish drawings of herself and Phoenix.

The first box was of Phoenix, wearing his sharp lawyer uniform, and Maya in her acolyte uniform. It had the title "First Thoughts".

The little Maya, a smile plastered on her face, said, "Nick! I finally met you after seven years! Let's get married!"

"Of course I'll marry you! I've been waiting day after day waiting for this moment!" the little Phoenix replied, little blush marks drawn on his cheeks.

The second box, however, was titled "The Reality of it".

Maya looked a little more realistic, with a little Pink Princess flair—the show finally rubbed off on her after so many reruns. She was frowning, and in a little speech bubble she said, "Um, Nick, would you… Ma… Mar… Marr…"

Phoenix looked like he did now: unshaven with his sandals and jacket. In a speech bubble, he said, "Maya, you don't know how I feel, because I'm harder to read now."

After Maya dropped the pencil to continue eating, she sighed. Her imagination was _extremely_ different from the real deal.

As Maya observed her artwork, a shadow crept up behind her. Alerted, and afraid it might be Phoenix, she turned her head swiftly.

_It was Apollo. _"Ah, hey Maya. You looked depressed here… so…"

Maya sighed; was she supposed to feel disappointed, or grateful that it wasn't Phoenix? Either way, she slowly turned her head back around to munch on her burger.

"Thanks for listening to me," he frowned. "Oh, hey…"

Apollo didn't say anything after that. All he did was pick up the piece of paper, which put Maya into a desperate situation.

"H-hey! Don't touch that!" Maya cried, chunks of the burger in her mouth almost flying out. She was trying to reach for the paper whilst still sitting—it didn't work.

He took half a step back, and started reading the paper. After a few seconds, a silly look took over his face. He clamped his mouth shut, but Maya could see from his shaking that he was fighting his laughter.

"Maya," Apollo said, his voice shaky from the laughter trying to escape, "did you _really _think it would be this easy?"

Maya, her eyes shining with gullible belief, shouted back, "Well, yeah! I mean, that's how the Steel Samurai asked the Pink Princess to marry him… except for the seven years part…" She finally realized how dumb and childish the words she spouted sounded.

Apollo just stared. He didn't have any laughter to fight; Maya was dead serious when she said that.

Maya stood up, holding a half-eaten burger in one hand. "Please, just don't tell Nick. I'm going to do this myself, when the time comes."

He was lost on what to do now. He gulped quietly. "I'll keep quiet for you, don't worry." Trying to find something to add to that lonely statement, he realized he was shuffling and mixing up his trial papers for the next day. "Oh, by the way," he said, starting out the door, "You should come to my trial tomorrow. Mr. Wright will be there. See you then."

Maya watched the door silently close back into place. She also saw Apollo's little horns bounced a little with every step he took. _Maybe, _Maya thought, _maybe I _should _go to Apollo's trial._ She went back to eating her burger. _But… I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh well._

It was the next day.

"M-my name is Apollo Justice, and I'm fine!"

Apollo's raspy voice echoed through even through the empty halls as he practiced his chords of steel to Trucy at the office.

"Okay, Polly, but with _MORE _feeling this time!" Trucy commanded.

Apollo stared at the clock. "Trucy," he whined, "It's 5:30 in the morning…"

Trucy pulled out a baton. "And your trial is at ten!" She pointed it dangerously close to Apollo. "You have no time to be slacking! Chop chop!"

Apollo sunk onto the couch and closed his eyes. "I'll practice when I wake up…" he said, drifting into sleep.

Trucy pulled out her phone—it had a design of a sparkly fox on it. She scrolled through her phonebook and pressed call on the name "Daddy". "Hello? … Daddy, Polly fell asleep. … He was practicing his chords of steel. … Wake him up at eight? … Can do! All right, Daddy, bye!"

She snapped her phone shut and sat on the couch opposite the one Apollo was snoozing on. _Polly's papers are all over the table… _Trucy thought, looking at the scattered pile just begging to be arranged.

Biting her lower lip, she started to shuffle through the pile, looking for a certain pattern that she could organize them in. Then, she saw it—an amateurish drawing of her father and of Maya.

As she read the two panels, her hand started to quiver. _Why would Polly have something like this…? It's kind of weird how he thinks Maya would just want to marry Daddy right off the bat… _Trucy quickly buried it under papers, scared she had just discovered a creepy romance fetish Apollo had.

After relaxing herself, it was finally eight o'clock. "Polly," Trucy chirped, "Hey, Polly!" She poked Apollo's face and pulled on his gelled horns.

"Nngh…" Apollo whined, swatting Trucy's evil hand from his fragile horns, "Five more minutes…"

"But, Polly!" Trucy had a fake sense of urgency in her voice now. "We have ten minutes to get to court, or you'll be late!"

Apollo's eyes flew open. He quickly got up and desperately gathered his now organized papers together. "Let's go!" Apollo said, dragging Trucy out the door. "We need to catch a cab."

Trucy was now calm. "We can catch a cab in an hour," Trucy said, smiling innocently at Apollo.

He facepalmed. _Why do I even let myself believe this girl? Geez…_ Apollo looked at his papers and saw he had everything he needed. He looked at Trucy, and remembered Phoenix. "Hey, Trucy, where's Mr. Wright?"

Trucy giggled. "He's still asleep!" she said. "I mean, it's _only _eight in the morning."

Apollo groaned.

"Get me some coffee. _PLEASE_," Apollo begged as he buried his face into his pile of papers.

Trucy sprung up and giggled. "Right away!" She ran into the kitchen and pulled out the coffee maker.

At the same time, Phoenix was using the coffee maker at his house. He had just finished showering, but he still looked like a homeless man in his normal clothes. _Ugh, _he thought, _I _hate _getting up so early in the morning. But I guess I really should get Apollo and Trucy some food before we go to court._

He stood in front of the coffee maker and he started tapping his sandal out of impatience. After five minutes of _not a single drop _of coffee falling into the pot, he stormed to another part of the kitchen to see what kind of food he could bring them.

_Let's see… In the pantry we have… Cereal, oatmeal, cake mix, candy, and energy bars. … Maybe I should just buy them burgers again… _

He reluctantly opened his wallet, which cried in his head, "_Why are you doing this? Stop taking money out of meeeeeeeeeeeee!_" It almost looked like he was going to shed a tear as he pulled out his second-to-last twenty.

He then started to walk to the burger joint, going to the offices after that. _Oh, wallet_, Phoenix thought sadly, rubbing its fine leather, _I'm so sorry_. He entered the burger joint and spent the twenty, got the burgers, and went to the offices.

"Hey," he said, tapping the door with his elbow, "Trucy, sweetie, Apollo, I have burgers!"

The smell of burgers filled the air not just in the offices, but in the hotel room Maya was sleeping in too. She immediately sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Do I smell… burgers?" she whipped her head around to find the source of the heavenly smell.

Pearl was holding the bag—it was greasy and she didn't like holding it at all. "Here, Mystic Maya. I got you your favorite. Now excuse me, I'm going to wash my hands."

Pearl hummed while washing her hands. Maya listened to her cousin's humming and looked around her room. She saw the digital clock on the nightstand that read 8:45 a.m.

"You'll never guess who I saw at the fast food place, Mystic Maya," Pearl started, soaping her hands for the second time, "I saw Mr. Nick!"

Maya took her first bite of her burger and started talking. "Really? Did he see you too?" She took a slurp of her soda.

"No." She was rinsing her hands now. "It was so weird; it's almost like he was _talking _to his wallet."

This made Maya laugh. "Pearly, that's because whenever he's with me, he spends all his money buying me food!" She was halfway done with her burger.

Pearl giggled. The faucet turned off, and she was drying her hands now. "Mystic Maya, I don't think he minds spending money if it's for his 'special someone'…" She put her hands on her cheeks out of routine.

Maya choked on her burger. "D-don't say that while I'm eating, Pearly. I'll have a heart attack." She crumpled the burger wrapper and tossed it into the bag.

Pearl poked her head out of the bathroom. "By the way, Mystic Maya, do you have any plans for today? Maybe you'll spend it with—" she put her hands on her cheeks again, which was a warning, "—your 'special some—'"

Maya covered Pearl's mouth in a rush. "Ah, I _am _spending today with Nick, but not just him… I'm watching his apprentice tackle a case in court today!"

Pearl's eyes lit up. "Mystic Maya," she asked, "may I come too? I would really _love _to see Mr. Nick and his… app-er-ant-ice!"

Maya and Pearl both laughed. Maya looked at the digital clock again—8:58 a.m. "Well," Maya said, grabbing the little bag of money and Pearl's hand, "We should get going, then!"

The cab screeched to a halt in front of the courthouse.

Apollo, Phoenix, and Trucy had gotten there first. Apollo reluctantly stepped out of the cab and shuffled his papers. Trucy hopped out and started adjusting her hat. And Phoenix got out of the cab; he pulled out his old phone and checked for the time. 9:30—still early.

The three walked into the courthouse and settled themselves in Defendant Lobby No. 1.

When the three were situated in the lobby, another cab stopped in front of the courthouse. This time, two girls dressed in acolyte garments stepped out, both sticking out like sore thumbs.

"Excuse me, Mr. Driver," Pearl said, "May I ask you what time it is right now?"

The driver, confused as to why this teenage girl wasn't holding a phone, said, "Uh, it's 9:40."

"Thank you!" Pearl said as she paid him and slammed the car door shut.

The cab drove off. Maya said, "We're still pretty early."

"The early bird gets the worm!" Pearl said, smiling. "… Or so I'm told."

They both walked up the steps to the entrance as Maya suggested, "Maybe we should go in early, so we can get good seats in the audience. I want to see Apollo—the apprentice—in action."

Pearl nodded—a sign of complete agreement.


	9. A Hostage Again!

Despite my better judgment, I'm going to put up chapter 9 :]

I'm still on the fence about the second-to-last chapter, and have not started the last one yet :O

AND again, despite my better judgment, the prosecutor...

Is not Klavier.

I know, BOO.

You'll just have to find out who it is when you read (;

I'll tell you one thing: the prosecutor is just someone to add some lightheartedness to the suspenseful part to come :D

Well, enjoy!

_**

* * *

**_

The audience chattered monotonously around Maya and Pearl. They were nervously squished as many people were gathered around them.

"Who's on trial again?"

"Sister Iris of Hazakura Temple."

"The one who was in prison?"

"Yeah. Apparently, she poisoned someone she ate with."

"Poisoned? Don't tell me…"

"Yup. Just like her evil sister."

"Ah, I guess it's in their blood."

Pearl fidgeted as she listened to the conversations going around her and Maya. "Mystic Maya…" Pearl said, biting her nail.

Maya looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile. "Just ignore them, Pearly. The trial should be starting—"

Interrupting her, the judge banged his gavel.

"Court is now in session." He turned to the prosecutor.

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor." The person who said this was Winston Payne, featuring another one of his weird hairstyles. He had gotten some of the long hair he grew and pulled it over his bald, shiny head. The rest he spiked back. Unfortunately, people could still see his shiny head through the hair.

"Mystic Maya," Pearl whispered, "Is that man trying to look like Mr. Nick?"

Maya sweated a little and murmured back, "Pearl... _I don't know_." She stared at it for a while, hypnotized. _Will Nick look like _that _when he's old…?_

The judge nodded and proceeded to turn to Apollo.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor!" Apollo's voice was raspy. He coughed quietly after his sentence.

"The prosecution may give its opening statement."

"Thank you, Your Honor. Sister Iris was…"

_Wow_, Maya thought. _This brings back memories. It would be _perfect _if that was Nick out there, though. _She gazed at Apollo as he was about to give his opening statement. But instead of focusing on Apollo, her eyes then looked onto the man beside him: Phoenix.

It seemed he had been looking at her too, because when Maya looked at him, he smirked and waved a hand at her.

Maya blushed, and Pearl elbowed her. "Mystic Maya," Pearl said, "was Mr. Nick waving at you or me?"

Maya turned to her. "Pearly, I honestly don't know."

"Mystic Maya, he looks so different now, don't you think?"

"Yeah, he does." She also added to herself, "His unshaven face really bothers me though."

"What was that, Mystic Maya?" Pearl asked, staring at Phoenix. He was still looking in their direction.

Just then, a hand tapped Maya shoulder. It was Trucy.

"Maya? I have something to tell you—"

Pearl's cheeks puffed up and she pushed her head in between them. "Excuse me, _Mystic _Maya's friend; I think you should address _My_stic Maya properly."

Trucy scratched her head. "Mystic…?" She clapped her hands together—she finally figured it out. "_You're _Pearl?"

Pearl's eyes widened. "Y-you know me?" She put her hands to her cheeks. "Why, I am honored!"

Trucy pulled on both their hands. She turned to Pearl, and said, "I'm Trucy, Da—Mr. Nick's daughter." She turned to Maya. "Daddy wants to see you. He'll be waiting in front of the courthouse."

As Trucy let go of Maya hand and pulled Pearl along, Pearl nudged Maya. "Good luck, Mystic Maya," Pearl encouraged as she slowly walked away.

Maya gulped. Her heart started pounding. Every baby step made her heart beat faster and faster. _Come on, you've got to face him soon enough…_ Maya said, attempting to shuffle her slippers on the tiles. It worked.

Maya's eyes lit up as she was fascinated at how her slipper slid on the tiles of the courthouse. She was at the entrance of the courthouse. "Yes, I could probably get to the front of the courthouse in—" She tripped. Her slipper got stuck in a wedge between two tiles.

She quickly sat up, and started turning red—she could hear someone approaching. _Great… they probably knew I fell… _she thought, making herself out as a klutz. She looked down, too embarrassed to look at the approaching person.

Like, her, this person was too distracted with their shuffling feet and practically ran into Maya, who was still sitting on the floor.

"Ouch…!" Maya said, still not looking up at the person. "Haven't you ever taken notice to the woman sitting on the floor? You almost stepped on me!"

The person snapped to his senses. "Oh," the person said, almost too shyly, "there you are." The person extended a hand to help Maya up.

_This voice... Oh no, no, no, PLEASE don't be…! _Maya looked up at the passerby and turned an even deeper red.

It was Phoenix.

He smirked at her, and said, "I've been waiting outside and it's really chilly." He rubbed his hands together to create some warmth in them.

Still blushing, Maya grabbed Phoenix's hand to get up. She didn't see, but he turned a little red too. "Ah, sorry, Nick," Maya said, trying to laugh off her embarrassment, "It's just _so cool _how my slippers can slide on this…" Maya trailed off. Phoenix was pulling her outside. _Holding her hand_. Her heart pounded. "Um, Nick, where are we going?"

Phoenix didn't turn to look at her. "Nowhere, really," he replied nonchalantly, "Just somewhere nice and quiet."

On the way to somewhere nice and quiet, the sun started peeking out from behind the clouds. Maya was thinking about how sweaty her hand must feel to Phoenix, blushing and changing facial expressions often. She decided to ask him. "Hey, Nick."

"Yeah?" He still didn't turn, because he could feel his face was still red.

She tried walking faster, so she could talk _face-to-face _with Phoenix. Unfortunately for her, he just started to walk faster. Giving up, she asked, "Is my hand sweaty?"

He thought for a moment, trying to feel her hand. "Uh, I really don't know. What about mine?"

She thought for a moment too. "Blegh. I don't know. All I can feel is the _sweat _in between both our hands."

"_Oh._"_ That's really gross_, Phoenix thought, while sticking out his tongue.

Maya was about to ask, "Why are our hands even sweaty? What's there to be nervous about?" But then she realized that they were nervous _because _they were holding hands. She stayed quiet.

He led her under a big tree, where it was nice and cool. The sun had barely started coming out, and they watched it emerge from the clouds. Phoenix lied back, put one hand behind his head, and let out a sigh of satisfaction.

Maya watched him and felt her face turn red. They were still holding hands.

"So," Maya said nervously, "what have we come here to talk about?" _He probably wants to let go of my sweaty hand_, she thought, and she started to pull it away.

Then, Phoenix gripped her hand tighter. "Don't you need to tell me something?" he said, showing her the Magatama in his free hand. He gave her a sly look and she pouted.

"That's a cheap trick, Nick," she said sourly, trying to free her hand from his grip. _Man, I'd want to hold his hand, if it wasn't a trap_, she thought, not half-wanting to get her hand away and half-wanting to keep it there. "Besides, I'm not hiding anything."

_You're lying_, Phoenix thought, glaring at the new Psyche-Lock that appeared. He smiled half-heartedly. "Maya," Phoenix said, playing with the Magatama between his fingers, "the Magatama is showing me how indecisive you are about telling me."

Maya's eyes widened and she tried to pull her hand away again. "N-no, I'm not indecisive!" she shot back, her face turning pink. "I've just decided—I'm not going to tell you."

Then, she remembered what Mia said. "_If you've set your mind on marrying Phoenix, you have to. If you hesitate, you might regret it."_

She pouted again, and Phoenix said, "Maya, if you keep doing that, you're going to get wrinkles sooner."

She pouted even more, and said, "I'm deliberating as to whether or not it is a wise choice to inform you on what has been treading on my mind for a monumental amount of time."

Phoenix's eyes widened. "Um, Maya, _is that you…_?"

"Of course it's me," she said, still pouting, "I'm trying to get to a higher level of thinking to see if it's better if I tell you right now or not."

He started to sweat. "Uh, yeah, whatever. Just get back to normal soon. This is kind of creepy."

As Maya thought hard, trying to squeeze her head with one hand, Phoenix put his hand on the other side of her head. Maya opened her tightly shut eyes and turned beet red. "You can't squeeze ideas out of your head with one hand… right?" he said, turned red himself. _That was such a stupid thing to do_… Phoenix thought scornfully.

Maya shut her eyes tightly again. She tried to think, but the only thing that flooded her mind was Phoenix and the only thing she heard was her drum-like heartbeat. _Niiiiiick_, she thought miserably, _why did you do that? I can't think anymore…_

As Phoenix stared at Maya, hard at work thinking, he smiled. _Same old Maya, _he thought happily. He glanced at his hand that was holding Maya's. She was holding his tightly too.

Since Phoenix and Maya were too busy with each other, they didn't notice the strange person who walked up to them.

A man, with a polite tone of voice, asked, "Would you happen to be Mr. Phoenix Wright and Ms. Maya Fey?"

Phoenix and Maya turned, to look at the man with a familiarly eerie presence.

"Yeah," Maya replied, "Who's asking?"

The man took off his hat, revealing a man with stitches down the middle of his face. "Just me. It certainly _has _been a while."

Phoenix and Maya gasped. Phoenix pushed Maya behind him. "Shelly de Killer! What are _you _doing here?"

Shelly de Killer did not answer, but kicked Phoenix in the face. He was knocked back and out.

"Nick!" Maya yelped, and Shelly de Killer pulled out a knife.

"Ms. Fey, things won't go according to plan unless _both _of you stay alive."

Maya started to sweat, and Shelly de Killer held her chin.

"There. Stay just as calm as that." The wristwatch he had on his arm sprayed a gas in Maya's face, and she fell asleep.

"I'm sorry to do this, after your assistance with enlightening me of Mr. Engarde, but I must stay loyal to my current client's wishes."

He carried the two bodies into his car—one side of it was black, and the other side was white. He placed the two in the back, and sped away. "Just like old times, eh, you two?" Shelly said. "Ms. Fey must be a trouble magnet—I mean, she's getting kidnapped _again._ Are you sure you can put up with her, Mr. Wright?" He sighed, obviously not expecting an answer. "I almost feel bad for doing this. _Almost._"

* * *

As I read this chapter over, I started to laugh.

Because...

OBJECTION! Shelly de Killer never opens his eyes.

So how can he drive?

You were probably wondering the same thing too (x

And apologies for the short-ish chapter; I just HAD to stop at this cliffhanger!


	10. The Moment You've All Been Waiting For

Chapter 10! :]

Okay, well I TRIED to make this chapter fluffy.

Apologies if you're unsatisfied with it (x

Hmm, let's see...

Again, the next update will be a while from now, especially since I'm still working on the twelfth chapter right now D:

Well, anyway, enjoy, and review please~! :D

* * *

The first to wake of the two was Phoenix. _Agh, my head's throbbing_, he thought, tightly shutting his eyes. He tried to rub his head, but his hands were tied tightly behind him. And not just_ his _hands were tied—Maya's were too. He then noticed they were back-to-back.

Phoenix looked about him for some clue to where they were. But, he had no such luck; they were stuck in pitch-blackness. _What happened again?_ He tried to remember what had happened and remembered a certain assassin. _Shelly de Killer, that's right_, he thought. _But… why did he kidnap _us_? Unless… HE assassinated that woman at the prison…!_

Phoenix hurried closer to what sounded like faint noise. He was having a pretty hard time, considering he was carrying Maya behind him, the room was practically spinning, and he couldn't see a foot in front of him. Somehow, however, he managed to reach the door. He could clearly hear a voice now.

"It's a little late, but it will have to do…" a voice said.

_De Killer… _Phoenix thought.

Shelly cleared his throat, and started speaking. "Hello? You all can hear me, correct?"

_He must be talking into a transceiver, just like last time_, Phoenix thought, pushing his ear to the door.

A gasp emerged from the transceiver. "Wh-who's that?" The voice belonged to the judge. Aside from his astounded and shaking voice, an excited chatter could be heard. It was the entire courtroom, astonished and curious as to why there was even a transceiver in their midst.

"This Shelly de Killer. I am an assassin."

Another gasp was heard. You could almost hear Apollo say, "This doesn't look too good…"

Continuing, Shelly said, "You see, I have to come clean about something. It was _I _who murdered that prisoner."

The transceiver picked up some more nervous chatter from the courtroom. _This is _all _a lie, just like last time_, Phoenix thought, getting tense.

"Yes, shocking," he said, trying to get to the chase. "I want to aid you in apprehending the person guilty in this case."

The judge, not as shocked as the last time this happened, asked skeptically, "Why would you help us? Doesn't think contradict your bond of trust with your client?"

"Ah, are you the judge from last time too?" Shelly asked. "If you are, you must be familiar with the fact that Mr. Engarde broke that trust. I'm afraid to say this client did _just _the same."

"Don't listen to him!" Phoenix tried to yell. "He's lying!"

Shelly paused, and, speaking into the transceiver, he addressed Phoenix—"Mr. Wright, calm your voice. They should hear you just fine."

Two alarmed voices overpowered the chatter of the courtroom.

Trucy panicked. "Daddy? You're with him?"

Apollo, just as panicked, said, "Mr. Wright? Ugh, is this why you aren't back yet…? Great."

"Wait a second…" the judge said, "if you _did _kill the victim, you should have left a calling card."

Shelly paused. "Why," he began, "I _did _leave a calling card. Did none of you see it?"

The chatter then turned into an uproar. On the other line, Phoenix could hear the judge banging his gavel, yelling, "ORDER! ORDER!"

At that moment, there was a certain whirring sound outside the building where Phoenix and Maya were being held captive.

"This is the police! Come out with your hands up!"

Shelly, calm as always, said, "Ah, looks like the police are here to try and capture me. I must go. Until next time, _if there is a next time, _Mr. Wright."

Hurried footsteps went across the room and disappeared.

Soon after, a stampede flooded the house, and police officers stormed the room next to the one Phoenix was being held captive in.

"Shelly de Killer! We know you're in here!" The police then proceeded to search the entire building, oblivious to the two hostages that he had kept.

"H-hey! In here!" Phoenix yelled. "We need help!"

This woke Maya up. "Unh, Nick, don't yell…" said Maya, and she tried holding her head, just to discover she couldn't. "Eh? Nick? What's going on…?"

Phoenix sighed, trying to juggle talking to Maya and asking for help. "We were kidnapped by Shelly de Killer as hostages, but the police are right outside, about to get us—"

A loud bang hit the door. "Sir, are you alone?"

Phoenix yelled back, "No, there is a woman with me. Why?"

There was a brief silence. "This door is shut tight. I'm supposing the assassin took the key with him."

Phoenix's eyes widened. "Wh-wh-WHAT?" He started to panic. _No, am I going to die here, with Maya? No, this isn't going to happen, no…!_

Maya looked around the room for anything that could be of use to them. When she found nothing, she pulled Phoenix back to reality. "Nick, if we want to get out of here, we're going to have to try to break this door down."

"What are you saying?" Phoenix said, losing hope. "_We _can't do anything to break the door. It's impossible to open."

Maya tried to stand up. "Well," she said, a motivated look on her face, "We don't know until we try."

Phoenix hesitantly got up, and agreed, "Yeah, yeah. Let's get the pain over and done with."

They took a few steps back.

"On the count of three," Phoenix instructed. "One… Tw—WHOA!"

"Hyaaaah!" Maya charged for the door head-on, but failed as the door made a _CLANG _sound. Maya recoiled, and they tripped on miscellaneous things scattered about.

They crashed into many things, which made a continuous racket until a plastic cup stopped moving.

"Whoa," Phoenix said, tightly closing his eyes. "I'm a little dizzy from that fall… You alright, Maya?"

Maya, shaken and dizzy, quietly replied, "Y-yeah, I'm okay." _Wait, if we can't break that door down, then all hope is lost… And I _still _haven't proposed correctly_, Maya thought, inhaling deeply. _This is it_, Maya decided, _it's REALLY now or never…!_ Her voice was a little louder as she said, "Hey, Nick."

Phoenix asked back, "What is it, Maya?"

There was a brief pause. _How to say this… How to say this… _Maya wondered. She found the words, although a bit strange for a proposal. "If you ever get out of this alive, would you want to marry someone like _me_?"

There was a pause. After a while, Phoenix chuckled. With a grin on his face, he thought, _At long last, she proposes! That took longer than necessary…_ He said back, "Maya, believe it or not, but I've been waiting seven long years for this moment."

Again, there was a pause. Maya wondered,_ So, is that a good thing, or a bad thing?_ She decided to ask him. "So, is that a yes?"

Answering her question with a question, he asked, "Do you love hamburgers?"

"Heck yeah!" she yelled enthusiastically. The words jumped out of her mouth before she even had time to process the question. "Heck yeah!" echoed in the room for a few seconds.

"Well then," he said calmly, "I guess you know my answer." He turns his head to look at Maya, and she stares right back. Maya and Phoenix both feel their faces turning red.

_I'm guessing _this _is the end of my dream_, Maya thought gleefully.

Thinking aloud, Phoenix mumbled, "Turn your head away."

Confused, Maya replied, "Why?"

"… I don't know. I just have this feeling I might do something if you keep looking at me like that," Phoenix said in an annoyed tone.

Maya turned red. "Oh. Okay." She quickly added, "Hey, why aren't the police officers trying to break down the door?"

From the other side of the door, the two could faintly hear sobs.

"Pal…" Gumshoe sniffled. "You guys _have to _invite me to the reception."

Phoenix turned redder. "GUMSHOE?" he yelled. "You're there? AND you were listening?"

Gumshoe sniffed. "S-sorry pal, you two were talking, so we decided to… you know, listen. We'll get you out of there; don't worry!"

At least six other officers cheered behind him.

"We'll save you!"

"Invite all of us to the marriage!"

"You two are so adorable… Proposing to each other in a life-threatening situation…"

Maya felt her face burning and her heart pounding. "Just break the door open already!" she yelled.

Gumshoe yelled back, "You got it, pal!"

The officers and Gumshoe carried something heavy—they all grunted.

"All right," Gumshoe said, "When I say go, we charge!"

The officers roared.

_At least they're not lacking in spirit…_ Phoenix said, waiting to be rescued.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Gumshoe bellowed, and the door practically flew off its hinges when the officers rammed into it.

Phoenix and Maya sat there, in sheer awe.

Gumshoe picked the both of them up and bear-hugged them. "Boy, am I glad to see you two!"

Maya, almost suffocating, uttered, "Gumshoe, please, untie the ropes…" she choked.

He released them and vigorously apologized. "Sorry, pal, it's just…" his eyes welled up. "The two of you are… getting married…" His voice was choked up. He cut the ropes, and the two were free.

"Thanks, Gumshoe," Phoenix said, exercising his wrists and arms.

Maya added, "Yeah! Thanks, pal!"

Gumshoe turned around, hiding his tears. "Y-yeah, let's get you two back to court, pals…!" Gumshoe ran away, to the helicopter they arrived in.

Maya was about to walk out of the room too, until Phoenix took hold of her shoulder. Quickly, she turned around. Nothing happened, until Maya decided to pull Phoenix into an embrace.

He could feel his heart pound, and he stuttered, "Ah, M-Maya, they're, you know, _waiting_ for us, _OUTSIDE_…" He tried to look at her face, but it was buried into his jacket. He could faintly feel her heart pound.

"Uh, so…" he said. Phoenix was unsure where to place his arms—he was thinking of patting her on the head, but since they were getting married, it seemed a bit weird. He didn't want her to think that he still thought of her as a kid. "Why hug me _now_?"

Maya's voice was a bit muffled as she replied, "I don't know."

He chuckled a little. "Uh…" He decided to put one hand on her head.

"_You're _the one who put your hand on my shoulder. You weren't doing anything, so I might as well have hugged you, right?"

Phoenix started to sweat. _Well, I WAS going to consider kissing you_,he thought, _but then you hugged me_.

He sighed and answered her. "Do you know how much you irritated me?" He patted her head. "Do you know how _long _I've been waiting for you to ask _me_?" He sounded hurt and annoyed.

Maya looked up, worried. "But, Nick, I can explain—"

He stared at her face and just smiled softly. "Don't give me that face." He gently pinched her cheek. "Maya, you know this already, but I guess I _can _say it now. I—"

Her breath was taken away, but she still managed to utter, "You… _what_?"

Leaning in closer as Maya tiptoed, he slowly said, "Maya… I…"

Their noses were touching as they heard a couple of officers squeal, while Gumshoe started to cry again. They quickly turned to the doorway to see three heads pop out of view.

_Thanks for ruining the moment… _Maya and Phoenix thought. Their faces were red and they walked out the door individually—they didn't want the officers (and Gumshoe) to start freaking out again.

As they walked into the helicopter, Gumshoe looked at both of them and sniffled. "I can't believe it…" He wiped his tears with his multicolored coat.

Maya blushed even more. To take the attention off of her, she quickly said, "Hey, pal, if we invite you and Maggey to the wedding, you _have to _invite us to your and Maggey's wedding!" She playfully nudged at him as he fidgeted and played with his coat.

"H-hey, pal," he said, scratching his head, "don't embarrass me like that…" He chuckled. "But okay, sure!" He smiled at them with a happy-go-lucky look on his face.

The helicopter quickly landed in front of the courthouse. One by one, Phoenix, Maya, Gumshoe, and the officers hopped out. While the officers ran back to their police cars parked on the street, the three faced the courthouse.

Maya and Phoenix awkwardly stood at the steps of the courthouse, until Gumshoe grabbed their shoulders. "Well, pals, let's get into court and put an end to this case!" Gumshoe cheered as he pushed the two together in front of him.


	11. Making a Comeback

This is the second-to-last chapter :]

It's a bit short, so please forgive me for such an unsatisfactory chapter after such a long time D:

Enjoy, and review please :]

* * *

The whole courtroom was dead silent. No one dared utter a word, no matter how murderous the suspense seemed. They were all holding their breaths, waiting for the next update on what happened to the two hostages. Just then, the door burst open as Gumshoe yelled, "We've got them safe, pals!" He ran in, and behind him were Phoenix and Maya, slowly walking in side-by-side.

The courtroom buzzed with chatter, and Pearl practically flew from her seat up in the audience gallery to wrap her arms around Maya. As she buried her face into Maya's robes, she whispered, "Oh, Mystic Maya, I'm so glad you're safe…" She was also sniffling.

Maya patted her on the head, "Aw, don't worry Pearly, you can't get rid of me _that _easily!" She even flexed her arm to show that she was indeed tough.

Even Apollo and Trucy rushed up to them, and Trucy did the same as Pearl, but to Phoenix. "Daddy, don't ever do that again," she said, as she wiped her nearing tears with her cape.

Assuring Trucy, he said, "Don't worry, sweetie; It'll never happen again. Promise," as he returned her bear hug.

Apollo was too old (and too proud) to start sobbing in the middle of court and in front of the jury cameras, so he slowly said against his choked up throat, "I'm glad you two made it back in one piece." He felt a tear coming to his eye, so he quickly wiped his eye with his rolled up sleeve in fear that someone should see it.

"Aw, Polly, come here. You need a hug!" Maya stretched out her arms, and Apollo smiled and was about to accept it.

That is, until he felt the chill of Phoenix's glare.

"Uh, that's okay, Maya," Apollo reassured, "I _am _twenty-two. I'm not going to cry, so don't worry." Phoenix's glare turned back into a lax, far-off stare, and Apollo sighed out of relief.

Maya and Phoenix looked at each other, laughed and both patted Apollo on his head. Though it would seem quite embarrassing, Apollo grinned. Slowly, one person at a time, applause was formed. People even stood up from their seats, and the judge seemed to be burying his head in his black robes. "O-order," he said weakly, "order… We can't have applause in the courtroom…" He sniffed. The judge banged his gavel softly, not even halfheartedly—he was overjoyed that the two were back safe and sound. "W-well done, Chief Detective Gumshoe…"

"Thanks, Your Honor!" Gumshoe laughed. "You don't even know the best part yet, pals! These two are—" Gumshoe's mouth was desperately muffled by Phoenix and Maya, who both seemed to have panicky looks on their faces. Everyone stared at them, partially confused, but also partially suspicious.

Maya practically hissed in Gumshoe's ear. "Don't say anything until later; we don't want anyone to know _just yet_." She stared long and hard at him, a sign that he should do as commanded.

"Ah, don't mind Chief Detective Gumshoe, everyone…" Phoenix said with a plastic smile on his face. He specially turned to Apollo and Trucy, and he winked at them.

Of course, this was because they had the power to sense that they were hiding something, with their power of perception. "Hey, Polly," Trucy said secretly to Apollo, "Do you think we should keep quiet?"

"Yeah, we should," Apollo said, almost in a nervous sweat, "Mr. Wright is practically giving me the evil eye. If I don't listen to him…" He shuddered.

Trucy giggled, and winked back at Phoenix. Phoenix turned to Maya, and they both blushed out of reflex—it was the first time that they had made eye contact since after the ruined moment they had. Phoenix nodded, then Maya nodded, and then they both removed their hands from poor Gumshoe's mouth. "Ah!" Gumshoe inhaled deeply. "You almost suffocated me, pals."

Maya laughed. "What about breathing through your nose, pal?"

Gumshoe paused, and then scratched his head. "Oh. I guess I forgot about that, pal. When I get fired up, I just automatically turn into a mouth-breather." He gave a goofy smile.

The judge banged his gavel for the umpteenth time, and everyone _actually _quieted down to listen. Noticing this, the judge cleared his throat, wiped his eyes, and announced, "This development had just inspired me to call these two freed hostages as special witnesses immediately. Maybe they will shed some light on our little predicament in court."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the first one to go up was Phoenix.

Apollo asked, "Mr. Wright, we need your name and occupation."

"Phoenix Wright," he replied. "I'm an ex-defense attorney, and currently a pianist at the Borscht Bowl Club."

Winston Payne decided to take the initiative now. Since Phoenix was a special witness, they agreed to alternate asking questions. He cleared his throat, and proceeded to speak. "Mr. Wright…"

"Hold it!" Phoenix said with a smile on his face. "Mr. Payne, I think it would do me some good if you all could first shine light on what you _already _know."

Payne started to sweat nervously. "Ah, t-that is…" he started to stutter and his back hunched.

"We haven't made any progress, Mr. Wright," Apollo surprisingly said calmly. "Lack of evidence."

Phoenix nodded in understanding. "I see…" he replied, thinking. "Well, I guess I could tell you everything I know."

Everyone fixed their eyes anxiously on Phoenix as he started his crucial testimony.

"It all began today, actually," he started, "when I left the courtroom to engage in an important discussion."

No one said anything—they were all holding their breath.

"I was sitting in People Park, when a strange man approached me."

_Shelly de Killer_, everyone thought. Still, no one said anything.

"He remarked about some things, and proceeded to kick me in the face, knocking me out cold. When I woke up, I was sitting in a dark room, hands behind my back, back-to-back with Maya. I followed a faint noise, and eavesdropped on what Shelly de Killer was saying; I trust he was talking to you all via transceiver. And that's pretty much it."

The first of many questions was asked by Apollo. "Mr. Wright," he began, "just _what _was this important discussion that made you have to leave the courthouse?"

Phoenix tensed up—if he spilled the beans, everyone _in the courtroom_ would discover Maya and Phoenix's engagement. Hell, even the jurors would find out! "Apollo," he replied, sending a malicious glare Apollo's way, "I _assure _you, it has no bearing on this case."

The judge raised his eyebrows. "Mr. Wright, you statement was INDEED a bit vague… Would you care to elaborate?"

_Sorry, Your Honor_, Phoenix thought. He glared at the judge as well. "Actually, I _wouldn't _care to do that."

"Eep!" the judge said, cowering under his chair now. "Never mind! Please, DON'T elaborate!"

Phoenix made his voice stern. "Shall we proceed?"

Payne was too terrified to ask a question, so Apollo kept things going. "Okay, on to the next question. When you say 'a strange man' approached you, you are referring to…?"

"Shelly de Killer, yes," he replied, a bit more relaxed now.

Maya was a bit tense in her seat. _Nick better not give in and tell everyone… _she thought, _it's too embarrassing! _Pearl was sitting beside her, and thought Maya's behavior abnormal. But she shook it off and shifted her attention to the case.

Payne was still terrified. So, Apollo kept asking questions. "Wait, so when you woke up, you were suddenly with Maya?"

"… What do you mean?" Phoenix was getting tense again—Apollo knew _just which _questions could get a witness nervous.

Apollo perceived this, and got a bit suspicious. _Mr. Wright wouldn't hide important testimony from the court… would he? _"I mean," he said, "from what you are saying, are you implying that _before _being taken hostage, you were not with Maya?"

Phoenix's mind was scrambled; if he hid the fact he was with her, he could be held in contempt. But, if he told everyone that he was with Maya, it would be _embarrassing._ "U-uh… what would it matter if I was with her or not?"

Apollo's eyes narrowed. _He's getting nervous. But why? Could he be hiding something vital? _"Because, Mr. Wright, if you weren't with her, she has a different testimony to give."

Phoenix gave Maya a nervous look, and she signaled him something that just screamed, "PERSEVERE!"

Trucy whispered to Apollo, "Polly, why does Daddy look so nervous? If anything, he was a _victim_…"

"I know, Trucy!" Apollo replied furiously. He was officially confused. He quickly shuffled his papers in an attempt to find some information that would suffice. "I don't get what's _so important _he can't share it with…" In his hand, Apollo held Maya's amateurish drawing. "AAAAH!" he yelled.

"Polly, what's—" Trucy stared at the drawing too and gasped.

Gumshoe, who was seated next to Maya, looked at down at Apollo and commented happily, "Hey, pal, nice drawing skills!" He chuckled. "That's _way _better than I could draw!"

_What's going on? _Maya thought, leaning forward to see what was occurring below them. She saw in Apollo's hand the fatal evidence that would reveal Phoenix and Maya's secret only known by a select few. Her jaw dropped, and then she started to stutter. "H-HEY! Why do y-you h-h-have that? D-don't just show it off like that! Put it away!" She violently waved her arm at him, in an attempt that her gestures (or maybe ESP) would force Apollo to hide the drawing immediately.

Everyone looked from Maya to Apollo and Trucy and back. Even the judge took a break from cowering and looked at the defense. "Mr. Justice, is there something you would like to share with the court?"

"It all makes sense now…" Trucy whispered as she stared at the drawing with wide eyes.

"What makes sense now?" the judge asked. "I demand that you show whatever you're holding to the court, Mr. Justice!"

_Now I get it…_ Apollo said, smiling timidly at Phoenix, blushing a little because of the important news he discovered. He gave Phoenix a thumbs-up in approval of his wife-to-be. "Your Honor, this had _no bearing whatsoever _as the case in question. Trust me." He buried it in his large stack of papers, and Trucy nodded slowly in agreement.

"T-then," the anxious judge asked, "_what _made sense?"

Apollo sheepishly smiled at the judge. "Um, it's a _bit _personal, Your Honor."

"Oh." The judge straightened up, rejuvenated with the suspense that was killing everyone now. "Let's proceed, shall we?"

_He's going to let it go _that _easily? _Apollo thought, a little glad, but more astounded.

Phoenix let out a sigh. _That was too close…_ He turned to Maya, who was still a bit jittery. He smiled, but she didn't see. She was waiting for the judge to call her to the witness stand.

"I think now would be the appropriate time to call Ms. Maya Fey to the stand," said the judge. He even stroked his beard as a sign that he agreed with himself.

Maya stood up from the audience gallery and everyone stared at her. She gulped.

"Break a leg, pal!" Gumshoe quietly cheered.

She slowly descended, a little nervous of what they were going to ask her, but even _more _nervous about hiding the marriage.


	12. And That's a Wrap

Finally, after more than a month of searching for ideas and fighting writers' block, here it is.

For everyone who had been waiting for this last chapter, I will have to apologize.

This chapter is _very _poorly written (x

To make up for it, this chapter is almost the length of 3 1/2 chapters, with a bit of (failed) fluff in the end :]

I want to sincerely thank everyone who has reviewed and spurred my mind with tons of inspiration-without everyone's criticism and support, I probably wouldn't have finished this story the way I did.

Oh and, I threw an OC in there just for the sake of the trial.

So, I hope you all enjoy the finale! :3

Also, feel free to review on what you thought about the ending. I'd really like to know how people felt about it!

* * *

Maya stood stiffly at the witness stand, too embarrassed to turn to the defense table—sure, Apollo was there, but Phoenix was standing _next to him_.

"Witness, name and occupation," Payne said confidently, his easily shaken confidence back.

She gladly turned to Payne, but shakily replied, "Uh… my name? Let me think… M… Maya F-Fey, Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique… I think." She tapped a finger on her head, trying to get her thoughts in line. _What's wrong with me? Every _normal _person at least knows their name! _She pouted at herself, and the word "marriage" blocked her mind of all other thoughts.

Apollo gave her a strange look, but Phoenix gave her a stranger one. _What's wrong with Maya…? _he thought.

"Hey, Mr. Wright," Apollo said, the strange look on his face now replaced with a silly grin and a hint of pink splashed on his cheeks, "look at this." From his stack of papers, he pulled out the amateurish drawing.

Phoenix had a confused look on his face. "What is this…?" he asked slowly, snatching the paper from Apollo's shaking hand—he was trying to control his laughter.

He looked up at Phoenix and pointed at the paper. "Read it," he urged, "you'll learn soon enough."

Phoenix read the little drawing, and his jaw dropped. He started to shake, but it was more out of embarrassment than laughter. "_Justice_," he quietly asked, his eyes shining from under his light blue skullcap, "_where did you get this?_"

Apollo's laughter was quickly swept away, and replaced with a more nervous, scared-looking expression. "Uh, um, that is—"

The judge banged his gavel. "Mr. Justice."

"Y-yes, Your Honor?" he quickly asked, more than happy to avert his attention away from Phoenix.

"Will you be asking the witness any questions?" the judge asked, finally composed and not crying.

Apollo turned a little pink and started to scratch his head. "Um, and may I ask… what do we know so far?"

Payne started to sweat. "A-all we know is the identity of this witness…"

_So, he couldn't think of any questions to ask,_ Apollo said, pulling out his papers like a real professional. "Well then, yes, Your Honor, I have some questions I would like to ask."

Phoenix watched Apollo clear his throat, now surrounded by a new air. _I've got to admit_, Phoenix thought, a smirk playing upon his face, _I must be _a little _grateful to him. He _did _keep the wedding under wraps from the court… for now. _Phoenix turned to Maya, who didn't look like she was paying any attention to Apollo.

"Ms. Fey," Apollo began, "could you please tell the court about your encounter with Shelly de Killer?"

Maya nodded. "Sure can do, Apollo!" She grinned. However, she still didn't even _steal a glance _from Phoenix. He groaned.

Everyone's eyes were now on Maya, who was trying to remember everything she could. "Let's see, it all began when I was sitting with Nick in People Park." She paused. "We were in a really heated discussion, so we didn't notice Shelly de Killer walking up to us. But, he did look _a little _suspicious—he had a hat that practically blocked his face! Oh, and he even had a trench coat on!" She took a breath. "But, I would _have _to say, there was one thing he said that seemed a bit fishy…"

Almost immediately, Apollo asked, "What did he say?"

Maya hummed as she tried to reminisce about the horrible incident. Suddenly, she pounded her fist into the palm of her hand. "He said something like…" she cleared her throat and did her best Shelly de Killer voice as she said, "'Ms. Fey, things won't go according to plan unless _both _of you stay alive.' It was something like that."

The judge banged his gavel. "What does this mean?" His eyes were wide open, as if Apollo already knew the answer.

Apollo thought deeply. "Well, Your Honor," he said, "It must mean that the person requesting de Killer's services must be connected to them in a way…"

Maya's eyes lit up. "Hey, I think I just had an idea!" She turned to Apollo and pointed at him. "_You _might be the reason Nick had to be kidnapped."

Apollo was taken aback. "E-_excuse me_?" He quickly looked around him—everyone was giving him a look.

"Well, actually, maybe you and Trucy," she explained, ignoring Apollo's beet red face. "You know, it's kind of like what Shelly de Killer did last time. If Nick's life was in danger, de Killer knew you and Trucy would do anything to keep him alive—even get a guilty verdict."

The courtroom was filled with chatter about Maya's clever deduction, and all she did was nod her head continuously and bask in the glory of using her brain.

Phoenix chuckled. _We were thinking the exact same thing_, he thought, smiling at Maya.

The judge banged his gavel. "So, what was the point of kidnapping you, Ms. Fey?" He stroked his beard as he tried to brainstorm.

Apollo tried thinking of an idea too. And then, it hit him. _Wait, what was it that Iris said before? The guard said something about déjà vu…? And he didn't even check the victim's person… _That's it_!_ He forcefully slammed his hands on the table. "Your Honor!" he said, his voice booming now.

"Yes, Mr. Justice?" The judge was still trying to think, and it looked like he was hurting himself by doing so.

"I believe that Sister Iris might have some vital information to share with us," he urged, trying his best to sound convincing.

Payne screeched. "W-why would you think that?" His voice softened near the end of his question; he sounded too nervous to handle the case anymore.

Apollo turned to Payne. "According to Sister Iris, the guard present during her arrest forgot to do something _vital _during the time of the murder."

The judge nodded. "As the judge, I must explore every possibility of new information being found." He turned his head to Apollo. "But are you sure you would like to call the defendant to the stand? She looks a bit nervous…"

Phoenix and Apollo turned to look at Iris, who did not look pretty; she was practically chewing her fingernails off.

"Iris…?" Phoenix asked slowly. "Are you alright?"

She flinched. "O-oh, I'm fine, Fee—Phoenix, just a bit jittery."

Again, the judge nodded. "The court calls Sister Iris to the stand!"

Iris slowly got up, and replaced Maya's spot. But unlike Maya, she kept her eyes glued on Phoenix.

"Name and occupation," Apollo anxiously said; he wanted to get over the formalities.

"I am Sister Iris and I'm a shrine maiden at Hazakura Temple." She _finally _took her eyes off Phoenix, and her let out a breath.

"I need you to tell us about the time of the murder, _in detail_," Apollo said, quickly digging through his stack of papers for the correct one.

Iris fidgeted a bit. "A-ah, yes, of course," she said as she cleared her throat. "I was sitting in the jail cafeteria eating lunch with a woman I had seen around before, but we never really talked. I didn't really talk to her, and she looked like she was about to talk to me, but instead she took a bite of her food. Suddenly, she took a sip of her coffee and _collapsed_."

Everyone started to murmur nervously around the courtroom, and even the judge muttered, "I can tell this is getting complicated…"

Apollo turned to Iris, who was getting tense at the stand. When he got the attention of his client, he cued her to just continue with her testimony. She nodded, and turned to the judge. "Your Honor, may I continue?"

The judge nodded. "Of course, go right ahead."

After everyone settled down, she started her testimony again. "So, as I was saying, she collapsed. I stood up in shock, but an old-looking officer quickly apprehended me, but not after quickly examining the table. Another officer tried feeling the pulse of the woman, but she was already dead…" She started to look down, as if trying to suppress an unsavory memory.

"Uh, Sister Iris," the judge said, his eyes widening in curiosity, "is there a problem?"

Iris flinched. "Um, no, Your Honor… I'll carry on." She took a deep breath. "The old officer told me that he needed to execute a body search for anything suspicious, but…" she shuddered. "He… he…"

Apollo spoke up. "What happened, witness? What did he do?"

Iris stuttered, "I-I don't know if it was intentional, but…" she looked up, with tears bubbling in her eyes. "He seemed like he was enjoying searching my body."

The courtroom stirred; the judge banged his gavel immediately. "Order! Order!" he turned to Iris in surprise. "Witness, are you insinuating that that officer…"

"Yes, he was taking his time searching me, and he liked it very much. It was almost like he had a glint in his eye…" Iris looked down. "And even though I wasn't in possession of anything that could be _remotely _suspicious, they arrested me in suspicion about the poisoning."

Apollo thought out loud, "That can't be right…" He looked at Phoenix. "… Right?"

"Absolutely right," Phoenix said, turning to the judge.

The judge nodded. "I agree with the defense. Mr. Payne."

"Y-yes?" Payne said, getting a bit nervous again.

"I need for you to summon this witness right away. I will issue a 30 minute recess, and I expect you to get this officer during that time period," the judge demanded, giving Payne a look that told him "You better not screw this up!"

Payne looked down and sighed. "Y-yes, Your Honor…"

The judge nodded. "Good. Court is adjourned for a 30 minute recess!" He banged his gavel, and the swarms of people in the courtroom flooded out.

Apollo, Trucy, Pearl, Phoenix, Iris, and Maya all anxiously walked to the defendant lobby to talk about the development.

As Phoenix shut the door, he said, "I trust the two of you to remain quiet about this." He turned to Trucy and Apollo.

Trucy hopped up to Phoenix and pulled him to Maya. "Daddy, I _can't _believe you finally found me a new mommy!" She hugged both of them tightly. The only thing Apollo did was slowly nod his head, feeling awkward just standing there.

Maya turned red. "Ah, y-yeah, um, about that…" She looked at Pearl. "Pearly doesn't know yet."

Pearl bit her thumb nail and stood there, trying to piece together what they could be talking about. "Mystic Maya," she said, still thinking, "Could it be…" She put her hands on her cheeks and gave Phoenix and Maya an endearing look. "I have been right all this time?"

Phoenix turned to Maya with a nervous look. He jerked his head in Pearl's direction, gesturing her that she was the one who would tell Pearl the good news. Maya gulped.

She strode towards her cousin awkwardly, almost robotically. "Uh, Pearly," Maya said, forcing a smile on her face, "you know how we got taken hostage?"

Pearl vigorously nodded her head, her eyes sparkling with eagerness.

"Well, during that time… I sort of had a realization. " Maya closed her eyes and tried to feel her burning cheeks. "It was partially what Sis told me; she told me that if I really, really, really, really, really, reeeally, _reeeeeally_—"

"So you love him?" Apollo said, a bit of disbelief in his face.

Phoenix and Maya both glared at him, and he stopped talking.

"Like Apollo said, I… _love _Nick." Maya said, taking in a very deep breath.

_Ouch_, Phoenix thought. _What an unnecessary pause…_

"And Sis said," Maya continued, "that if I really love him, and if I _really _want to marry him, I had to take the initiative and just go for it."

Pearl and Trucy simultaneously chimed, "Awwww!"

Maya quickly turned red and said, "W-well, maybe we should focus on the trial. I mean, come on Apollo. You've been neglecting your client."

Everyone turned to Iris, who was sitting on the couch, dozing off. _Poor thing_, Apollo thought, giving her a sympathetic look. _She must be worn out_. He shook his head. "Actually," Apollo said, turning to the crowd of people, "This is starting to make sense to me…" He quickly pulled out a random piece of paper and flipped it over. "Mr. Wright, can you sketch out what Shelly de Killer's insignia is?" He held out a pen to Phoenix.

Phoenix quickly grabbed the paper and placed the pen nib on it. "Ah, I see where you're getting at, Apollo. Now, if I remember correctly…" Phoenix started to sketch out what seemed to be a shell, and handed it back to Apollo.

"Hopefully," Apollo said with a big sigh, "we can finish this case quickly." He straightened out his stack of papers.

"And then…" Pearl began, putting her hands on her cheeks. She looked adoringly at Phoenix and Maya, who were standing close to each other.

Maya blushed, and Phoenix chuckled. "Pearly, um, you're making me blush."

As Phoenix just laughed, Trucy shoved him closer to Maya. Then, his face turned completely red. "Daddy," Trucy teased, "I knew you would blush too!" She giggled.

_Great_, Phoenix thought, _I'm made a fool by every female on the planet_. He facepalmed, and the bailiff awkwardly walked into the crowded room.

"The trial will be reconvening soon," he quietly said, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone in the room. "You should start walking over there…" He quickly stepped out, and everyone started to once again flood the courtroom.

Soon, everyone quieted down as a shady-looking man approached the witness stand. He stepped up there, and looked expectantly at the judge. "Well?" he snapped. "What are you waiting for? Your head's not going to get any shinier." The man then crudely looked at Phoenix and remarked, "Hmm, didn't know they let bums sleep in here too."

_This guy_, Phoenix thought, _better _not _be the witness…_

Apollo balled his fists and glared at the shady man. "Let me guess. You're—"

"The witness, what does it look like I am?" he yelled, wildly turning his head side to side to make people turn away. He then saw one person sitting nervously in the audience—Maya. He calmed down and gave her a very strange look; he looked at her with tranquil, but wild, fearful eyes.

Maya shuddered. "Do… do I _know _him…?" she asked, turning to Pearl.

Pearl shrugged. "Do you recognize him, Mystic Maya?" Trucy leaned closer, curious as to where the conversation would lead.

Maya stared at the man. "He looks… so familiar… almost like…"

Apollo said, "Witness, we're going to need your name and occupation, if you don't—"

"Of course I mind, you nitwit!" the man countered, putting on a hideous scowl.

The judge banged his gavel. "Witness! Just state your name and occupation, _now_," he demanded.

The man grumbled to himself, and then turned to the defense bench. As he scanned the faces of the defense, his eyes rested on Iris, who in turn looked particularly scared. He mouthed "you" and quickly turned to the judge. "Well," he slowly started to say. He was finally cooperating.

_Wait_… Apollo thought. _One look at Iris and he's ready to cooperate? What's this guy's problem?_ He paid close attention to the shady man for his name.

"I don't really like giving out my information, but…" he said, still very slowly.

Maya was still thinking. _He looks so familiar! It's almost like I've seen him around Kurain… _Maya gasped. "Pearl!" she said in a panicky tone as she started to shake her cousin. "I know who he is!"

Pearl's and Trucy's eyes widened. "W-who is he, Mystic Maya?" Pearl questioned.

Maya looked uneasily at the man. "He's…" Maya said, her voice getting a bit shaky, "he's…"

"My name," he continued hesitantly, "is…" At this point his eyes were darting swiftly from Maya and Iris.

"Pearl," Maya said, biting her lip. "That man is…"

"Ray Carroll," he finally said. He pulled out a cigarette, but the bailiff quickly confiscated it, and pointed to a sign he was standing next to, which stated, "NO SMOKING".

Maya almost flinched, and Pearl blinked. "Mystic Maya, I've never heard of him."

Maya cringed, and slowly looked down. "That's a good thing, Pearly," she whispered. "He's a very bad person."

Trucy popped her head into the conversation now. "Maya, can you just tell us how you know him? The suspense is _killing me_!"

Maya inhaled. "Pearly, remember all those times when our aunts would tell you to just stay inside and watch Steel Samurai with me a few years ago?"

Pearl nodded slowly, unsure of where the conversation would lead.

"Well, they were hiding you from this man. Uncle Carroll."

Pearl cocked her head to the side. "But, why, Mystic Maya? If he's our uncle, we should be welcoming him! Yet, you look so _scared_…"

Maya laughed nervously. "Pearly, he's not… the _best_ uncle you could ask for… he's actually near one of the worst. Trust me."

Pearl just nodded and they turned their attention back to the trial.

"Ray… Carroll?" Apollo asked, quite unfamiliar with the name. Apollo thought, _I thought that he would _at least _be someone I know…_

"Yeah, _RAY CARROLL. _You asked for me, so don't act like you don't know me!" Ray snapped, and he banged his fist angrily on the stand. His eyes still continued to dart from Maya to Iris. They both tried to avoid his gaze.

At this point Phoenix was glaring at Ray. _Why is he looking at Maya like that…? I can't stand it_, he thought furiously.

Payne started to groan, and complained, "Witness, can you _please _just start your testimony?" He tried to run his fingers through his hair.

"_Yes_," Apollo backed up, "Can you stop complaining and testify on what you did when you came in contact with my client?"

Ray angrily grumbled, and finally agreed with a huff. "Alright, alright!" He cleared his throat, and started to talk. "I'm guessing you're talking about that girl that's looking a bit terrified right now. She _should _be terrified! She's a murderer, after all!"

The court did not stir, but instead, everyone held their breath.

"Let's see…" he said, scratching his chin. "Ah! I remember. This girl, she killed another inmate of hers, with poison, no less. And, when I saw the victim choking, I was the first officer to rush over there and apprehend this girl right here."

"Mr. Carroll," Apollo interrupted, "My client mentioned something about you saying 'Déjà vu'."

The judge widened his eyes. "Déjà vu? But how…?"

Ray scoffed. "What? _None of you _have heard about that poisoning in this courthouse before?"

From the corner of Maya's eye, she thought she saw Pearl twitch. But, it _wasn't _Pearl; it was Mia. She was also gritting her teeth. "Sis…?" Maya said almost silently.

Ray continued to let himself blather about the poisoning. "This girl, well… her _sister_ poisoned a defense attorney in this very courthouse."

The courtroom had a low buzz emanating from it, and Apollo and Phoenix didn't like it.

"Now, her sister got off, but then she went and tried committing more murders. Now, if you knew of a sick person like that, wouldn't you be worried about that person's _twin sister_?"

The courtroom let out in a rage of murmurs and whispers.

"My thoughts exactly."

"Maybe… Maybe she really _did_ kill that woman…"

"Yeah, for once, that old geezer spouted out something logical."

"Tch…" Mia said, turning to Maya. "That's Uncle Carroll?" Maya nodded with a serious look on her face. "Look, I _know _he's guilty." Mia looked back at her uncle and grimaced. "If you knew why he would have you kidnapped too, and why he would blame Iris, it actually makes sense."

Maya raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What are you talking about, Sis?"

Apollo yelled, "The defendant's family ties have nothing to do with what we're considering!"

The judge didn't nod—but he didn't shake his head either. "I'm very confused… Mr. Justice, what was the relevance of bringing in this witness again?"

"We need to know why he arrested Iris…" he said. _But he already told us, and it stirred up the court. _"And…" he pulled a paper from his stack. "He was touching Iris… uh… inappropriately."

Ray yelled, "What do you mean, I was touching her 'inappropriately'?" he said angrily, pulling on the gloves he was wearing.

"Witness," Payne uttered, "were you or were you not searching the witness's body?"

"I sure did," Ray replied haughtily. "You _have _to perform a body search if you want to see if the person is hiding anything, right?"

Apollo started to sweat. "Uh, well that doesn't mean you have to, you know, _enjoy _it…"

The judge banged his gavel. "Mr. Justice, I don't think this person is bringing us any closer to light. In fact, he is making your case even worse. Ray Carroll, you are free to leave with Mr. Payne's discretion."

Ray started to mutter angrily to himself, as Payne said, "Okay, witness, you're free to go…"

"Mr. Payne, if you will, please call your next—"

"HOLD IT, PAL!" said Gumshoe, who slammed open the door to the courtroom. "I've got some _really _important testimony, Your Honor!"

The judge widened his eyes, and just stared as Gumshoe ran up to the stand. "Chief detective…?"

Gumshoe stood happily at the stand. "Turns out, Your Honor, the police found a spot outside of the jailhouse that ties in _reaaaal _close with this case," he huffed out of excitement.

Apollo turned to Phoenix. "Is he talking about that building next to the burger joint?"

Phoenix didn't turn to Apollo, but instead looked straight ahead. "It could be… But _how _does it even remotely tie in…?"

"The police have been keeping an eye out on this building near a regular old burger joint," Gumshoe explained with a wide grin on his face.

"What does this have to do with our case?" Payne asked skeptically.

Gumshoe laughed. "Don't underestimate me, pal, I'm the chief of the precinct!" He turned to Phoenix and Apollo. "That building the police and I were investigating, there were some shady deals going on there."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean, ''shady deals'?"

"You're curious, pal?" Gumshoe asked. "Well, I'll tell you. They sell all kinds of illegal things there on certain days of certain months. But they mostly sell drugs and chemicals that shouldn't be sold in stores."

"For example, let's say, some lethal poison?" Apollo asked, finally starting to get the picture.

Gumshoe replied, "Exactly, pal!"

The courtroom stirred, until the judge banged his gavel again. "I see! So, this is where you're going, Chief Detective!"

"And to top it off," Gumshoe said, "it seemed there were some shady deals going down on the day _right before _the murder in that building!"

Apollo smirked. _This is shedding a lot of light on things we didn't know… Now, to just find the culprit!_

The judge widened his eyes. "I see! Do you have anything else to add?"

Gumshoe thought for a moment, then replied, "Oh yeah, there's something I forgot to mention!"

The courtroom braced itself for the next piece of information Gumshoe would present to them.

"Like I said, pal, there was _obviously_ something shady going on there the day before the murder," Gumshoe tried to persuade. "And it looks like it wasn't friendly. We got forensics check for any clues and it looked like someone got stabbed there. Maybe it was the client…?"

"I don't see why the drug dealers would have to harm their own client though," the judge refuted while shaking his head.

Apollo was poking at his forehead while he tried to figure out some possibilities. "Well, Your Honor," Apollo started, "what if the client _was harmful _or even_ dangerous _to the drug dealers? It's possible if the client was a _police officer_ or something…"

"OBJECTION!" Payne screeched, trying to keep his composure. "Y-you can't just blame the witness like that! That's baseless!"

"OBJECTION!" Apollo yelled back, "I'm not referring to Chief Detective Gumshoe, Mr. Payne."

"Then just _who_ are you referring to, Mr. Justice?" the judge asked, leaning in a bit out of eagerness.

Phoenix smirked. _He practically has this case in the palm of his hand now_, he thought.

"Of course, I'm referring to…" he slammed his hands on the desk. "Ray Carroll!"

Payne and the courtroom found this accusation to be very shocking, and as the courtroom buzzed uncontrollably, Payne screamed.

The judge banged his gavel over and over again. "Order! Order! I will remove any person in this courtroom who dares disturb the peace again! Mr. Justice! Please explain this to the court immediately!"

Apollo nodded his head. With a confident smirk on his face, he replied, "All the questions you have will be answered right after we call back Ray Carroll."

Payne interrupted and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Justice, but we've already sent him back to where he was…"

The judge banged his gavel anyway. "Mr. Payne, get Ray Carroll back into this courtroom immediately! If he's under the _slightest _suspicion, we can't let him get away!"

Luckily, it just so happened that Ray had been sitting in the audience, and as people started to stare at him, he grimaced. "Go ahead, _Uncle Carroll_," Mia said in a disgusted tone.

Maya pushed him along. "Come on, _dear Uncle_, the judge is calling!" Ray bit his lip angrily and trudged back to the witness stand.

"Wait…" Phoenix said, with a bit on confusion on his face. "Maya, Mia, _this guy's your uncle_?"

They both nodded, and Ray bit his lip even harder. It even seemed like he was sweating.

_Now that I've established a connection with the Fey family and this guy, something important it _bound _to turn up… _Apollo thought, getting determined to save Iris.

Ray again tried to act arrogant, but couldn't—he started to stutter. "O-okay, this is the last time I'm g-going to testify! If I have to after this…"

Apollo shook his head. "Don't worry, Mr. Carroll," he assured, "we won't need your testimony after this."

Ray growled, but Apollo just casually shuffled his papers. "We're going to need to know what you were doing the day before the murder," Apollo said, "and after, we're going to have to ask you a few more questions."

The judge nodded his head in agreement. "Witness, you may start your testimony."

Mia turned to Maya. "Maya, this is it. This will shed light on everything."

Maya looked at her sister. "Why's that, Mia?"

She turned to look at their uncle. "Well, I talked to the spirit of the victim in this case." She sighed, and quietly continued to speak. "It turns out we're related to her too—she's our aunt, and Uncle Carroll's ex-wife."

"Please tell us what you did when you saw the other inmate dying from poison," Apollo instructed.

Instead of countering what Apollo said with an insult, he cooperated. "Look, you know everything already; I checked the table for anything suspicious, and then I checked the defendant there—"

"And you didn't check the victim?" Apollo questioned. At this, Ray gulped.

"OBJECTION!" Payne said. "He's… he's badgering the witness, Your Honor!"

The judge ignored him, and instead stayed silent to listen for Ray's response.

Ray shakily responded, "Uh… I knew the other officers would go straight to checking the victim, so I went to get the only other person at the table…"

"And did they find anything?" Apollo asked.

Ray gulped again, and tugged at his leather gloves. "N-no…"

Apollo continued. "Did you have any connection whatsoever to the victim?"

Ray stopped, and started to sweat profusely. "She… she was my ex-wife."

The courtroom again stirred crazily until the judge banged his gavel. "Witness! I think that this kind of thing would be something to inform us about as soon as possible!" the judge scolded. Ray groaned, and started to fan himself.

_He's cracking_, Apollo thought confidently. "Witness, is it true you are related in one way or another to the Fey Clan?" Reluctantly, Ray nodded. "So, is it safe to assume you know the current master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, Maya Fey?"

As Phoenix furiously eyeballed him, Ray replied, "Yeah, yeah, I know her. So what?"

Maya turned to her sister. "This makes him a possible suspect now, right?"

"Exactly." Mia replied.

"I just have one question, witness," the judge interrupted.

"What?" Ray snapped.

"Why didn't you inform anyone about your relationship with the victim? You know, now that we know this, it makes your behavior kind of suspicious…" the judge said. "I mean, if _my _wife died in front of me, I'd be more concerned about her than the one who could have done it."

Ray got tense. Then, he quickly said, "You know, if my boss knew I had family in jail, I could get fired." He again tugged on his gloves.

"Apollo, he's got a motive," Phoenix said sternly.

Apollo nodded, and started to state the facts. "This man was the victim's ex-husband, so he's related to the Fey Clan. He never told anyone about his ex-wife for the sake of his job… and he apprehended Iris instead of even _checking _on her… Like he already knew she was going to die and didn't care." Then, he looked up at Ray again. "Wait, witness, why did you check the table? Was there something there you needed?"

Ray pulled tightly on his gloves. "W-what are you talking about? I never… I never checked the table!"

_Hmm…_ Apollo thought, staring intensely at Ray, _I was right. My bracelet's been going crazy for a reason. What was it that Iris said? One of his hands was 'stiff and rough'? And he keeps tugging on that one glove…_ "Witness, please relax," Apollo coaxed. "You're going to stretch out those gloves if you keep tugging on them."

At this, Ray tugged his gloves even more. "What are you talking about? I'm not—"

"You pull on your gloves every time we mention something that gets you edgy," Apollo explained. "Please, for the sake of calming your nerves, can you please take off those gloves?"

Ray flinched. He didn't say anything back.

Phoenix turned to Apollo. "What's this about taking off his gloves…?" he inquired.

"I'm perceiving his nervous habit," Apollo replied, "and I think he's hiding something in those gloves of his." He turned back to Ray. "Go on then, it's not like you have _nothing to hide_."

Ray scowled, and the judge urged him, "Witness, for the sake of this trial, can you take off your gloves? I don't know where this is going, but…"

Angrily, Ray tore off his gloves and threw on the witness stand. "_Here!_" he shouted, "I took off my _damn _gloves!"

Apollo smirked. "Gotcha." He walked over to the witness stand and snatched the gloves.

"H-hey! What are you…" Ray started, but he stopped as a white card fell out from one of the gloves.

Apollo grabbed the card, and compared it with the drawing Phoenix had made for him earlier. "Ray Carroll," Apollo said, "we've got you now!" Apollo held the card up in the air for everyone to see. On the white card was a pink design of a shell—it was Shelly de Killer's sign.

The judge nearly fell out of his seat. "Mr. Justice! Please present this to the court! What is the meaning of this?" Ray was about to run up to Apollo and attack him, but the bailiff and a police officer quickly apprehended him.

"Gladly, Your Honor," Apollo said. He quickly cleared his throat. "Let's review the facts, shall we? Ray Carroll is a middle-aged police officer. His ex-wife was a woman of the Fey Clan. Because of his ties to the Fey Clan, he knew of the women of Fey Clan, which gave him a connection to Maya." He turned to Ray. "Now, I'm guessing his wife was put in jail for some reason, and the secret of them being married was in jeopardy of getting out. So, what did he have to do? Of course, he had to get rid of her, for the sake of his job." He played with the card in his hand. "He sought the help of Shelly de Killer, and he agreed to pay for the assassination of his wife. So, he went to meet Shelly de Killer the day before the murder at the building near the burger joint, and if Chief Detective Gumshoe's theory is correct, Ray Carroll should have a stab wound somewhere on his body."

The bailiff and police officer quickly removed Ray's uniform shirt to find his shoulder in a bandage. "Hey! You can't—" Ray protested.

Apollo continued. "So, he gave Shelly de Killer the poison he wanted to be used to kill his wife. Somehow, de Killer got the victim's coffee laced and she died. When he saw her collapsing, he took the initiative and rushed over to the table, sure that de Killer would leave a card somewhere. After quickly scanning the table, he snatched it when no one was looking and took Iris under custody."

"The only thing we don't know," Phoenix started, "was _why _he had to kidnap Maya."

"You might as well confess," Apollo demanded. "You're practically guilty."

Ray twitched for a moment, and then started to fizz at the mouth. Trashing everywhere, he fell on his knees and confessed. First, he looked at Maya. "Maya… Maya was a beautiful woman. Even more beautiful than my wife. But not as beautiful as Dahlia. Of course, that's why I wanted to _marry _Dahlia. My wife wouldn't have it, so I left her." He fell to the ground, his mouth still fizzing. "I worked at the courthouse one day, and I saw Dahlia. I was about to approach her, but I saw that she… she was poisoning the coffee of the man across from her. I couldn't believe it—my perfect angel Dahlia almost killed someone. But, I got used to the fact, and gave up on her."

"You liked _Dahlia_?" Phoenix yelled. "You're at _least _double her age!" He stared at Ray in complete and utter repulsion.

"But you haven't explained why you kidnapped me," Maya said from the gallery.

Ray started to laugh maniacally now. "Oh, I'll get there, don't worry." He looked at Iris with lustful eyes. "I knew of Iris as well—I was planning on getting married with her too. But my wife got arrested for who knows what, and when I was watching over her cell one day, she begged for me back. If I didn't take her back, she would tell everyone of our failed marriage and cost me my job. So what did I do? I called de Killer." He licked his lips and started to cackle now. "Everything you said was right, I got stabbed. But, we decided to carry on with the assassination. So, I was standing near the cafeteria and de Killer was posing as a server there. He served my ex some coffee, but not without placing his card under the mug. So, when the hag collapsed, I got over there to take the card—I knew that since Iris was sitting with her, she'd be the perfect target to take the blame. So, I gave up on marrying Iris too."

"But, what does this have to do with me?" Maya asked, her voice shaking a little.

Ray's bugging eyes turned to Maya, which made her shudder a little. "I paid de Killer the next day," he explained, "and you were my last option. I was going to have him kidnap you so we could get married. Wouldn't that have been wonderful?" He started to laugh uncontrollably, and the bailiff and officer quickly escorted him out.

Then, the courtroom was deadly silent, until Apollo shyly scratched his head, and asked, "So, um, Your Honor, is this case closed?"

The judge sighed. "This took an exponential amount of time, Mr. Justice, but I suppose it was worth it. Well done. Mr. Payne, see to it that Ray Carroll is correctly arrested."

Payne trudged out the door and weakly replied, "Y-yes, Your Honor."

"Now," the judge said, "I declare the defendant, Sister Iris,"

NOT GUILTY

* * *

It was the day after the trial, and the two engaged to each other had woken up from a night of great celebration first. Everyone had stayed at Phoenix's house to celebrate Apollo's big win, and everyone stayed up well past five in the morning. As Phoenix walked into the kitchen, Maya greeted him with a "Mornin', Nick." She gave him a warm smile as she watched the Steel Samurai on the television.

He stretched, and replied, "Good morning, Maya."

Without looking at him, Maya said, "Oh yeah, thanks for letting Pearly and me stay here. We ran out of cash so we had to leave the hotel." She laughed, but didn't take her eyes off of the television.

Phoenix sighed. _We're still acting casual. Isn't it supposed to become more _intimate _when you marry someone…?_ He took a seat right next to her and placed an arm around her.

Maya blushed, and quickly turned to him. "H-hey Nick… Um… What's up?"

Phoenix got closer to her face. His face was red as he said, "Um… I thought I should do this… since we're getting married and all."

Maya continued to stare at him, and said back. "Oh, yeah. We should be a lot closer now, huh?"

"Yeah," he replied, "I think so."

They didn't say anything for a while, until Maya said, "So, since we're this close, don't you think we should…" she looked down, as her face turned a deep red, "I don't know, um…"

"Kiss?" Phoenix said, his face turning an even deeper red too.

Maya quickly looked at him, and fidgeted with her robes. "Um, yeah."

Maya looked up at him, and caught eye contact with him. She lifted her face closer and closer, until Phoenix touched lips with her. They stayed in this position of locked lips until they heard the clatter of something on the floor.

Maya quickly turned to see where the noise came from, her face tomato red. The clatter was the Magatama she always wore, and Pearl and Trucy were staring straight at them.

Maya quickly jumped off the chair she was sitting on and ran to Pearl. "Oh no, Pearly, you shouldn't have seen that… Um, are you okay…?" she asked, feeling extremely awkward.

Pearl turned to Trucy with her hands on her cheeks. "I told you they were each other's special someone!" She looked at Maya with very sparkly eyes. "Go ahead, Mystic Maya! Do more things like that with Mr. Nick!" She pushed Maya to Phoenix, and they were both a bit astonished.

Trucy giggled. "Pearl, maybe we should watch them!" she said as she started to sit on the floor.

Pearl lit up. "Why, that's a great idea!" She sat on the floor as well. "Well, come on, Mr. Nick! Kiss Mystic Maya again!"

_Do they _really _expect me to start kissing Maya again…?_ Phoenix wondered, not moving.

Maya and Phoenix stayed frozen in place, until Pearl realized they didn't like to be watched. "Oh, Trucy, I guess they don't like being watched while they do these things."

Trucy snapped her fingers. "Aww, fine. Let's go back, Pearl."

Phoenix and Maya didn't move until they heard that they were back in the room they both slept in.

Maya sighed. "That was _really _uncomfortable!" She sat next to Phoenix again, and put her head on his shoulder. This time, she seemed a bit more relaxed.

"We're going to have to watch out for those two," he laughed, placing his hand on her shoulder. He was more relaxed too.

They laughed for a little bit, until Maya said, "Um… About that kiss…" She was turning a little pink in the cheeks again.

Phoenix's cheeks were turning pink too. "What about it?"

"That was our first one, huh," she said, sighing.

Phoenix chuckled pathetically. "Yeah." He turned his face toward her. "You'd think we'd have done a lot more things together, since we're getting married and all."

They were quiet again, until Maya piped up and bluntly asked, "So do you want to kiss again?"

He laughed and replied, "Actually, I do."

Phoenix leaned in for another kiss, and as they were about to make contact, they heard another clatter. As they looked up at who it was _this time_, it was Apollo—he had dropped his bracelet.

The engaged couple stared angrily at him as he nervously asked, "Oh… Um, did I come at a bad time?"

**The End!**


End file.
